**** Says Minister Did Not Chatter Flight To China

**** States That Kachikwu Uses Private Jets  Owned By Govt, Oil Coys Where Exigency Of Job Allows For Local Travels At No Cost To Govt

By Our Correspondent

AN Oil Monitoring Group,The Niger Delta Indigenous Movement For Radical Change (NDIMRC) has condemned allegations that  the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu was involved in extravagant lifestyle.

Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, Minister for Petroleum Resources. (State)

The group also insisted that the Minister never spent #182 Million on Chattered Flight to China as it equally dismissed the allegation that the Minister appointed two Special Advisers for his wives.

An online platform, quoting a source who does not want to be named, described the Petroleum Minister as “extravagant, lavish and too flamboyant for  Buhari’s anti- corruption Government”.

But in a press statement by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Stanley Mukoro, the group said it was not true that the Minister recently chattered Flight costing #182 Million to China  at the expense of the State.

“Our attention has been drawn to the recent allegations  in an online Platform against the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu and to say that these are familiar lies disgruntled Stakeholders have been heaping on the Minister. Our findings have shown that the Minister never spent #182 Million on Chattered Flight to China. We know that this baseless accusation is coming from the same  frustrated Stakeholders who have been working against the hard-working Minister”, the group said.

“We want to let these faceless groups and individuals  who are at it  again   to know that their information is not correct as he never embarked on a  trip to China on a Chattered Flight costing #182 Million at a time when Nigerians are complaining of hardship. He is not insensitive to the plight of Nigerians. To show he is prudent, Dr Kachikwu on assumption of office as the GMD of NNPC and Minister cancelled all contracts for hiring Private Jet for Petroleum Minister and at the moment, contracts of hiring Private Jet no longer exist.
He uses Private Jets where exigency of job allows and uses Joint Venture Planes owned by Government and Oil Companies, at no cost to Government, but usually for local travels,” the group added.

It also that;” We have repeatedly said it that those still  being hurt by the reforms of the Minister in the Oil and Gas Industry are doing everything to give him a bad name, hence they came out  again now and accused him of Chattering Flight to China   at the expense of the State, this allegation is laughable, baseless, mischievous and a pure lie against an innocent man.”

Writing further, the group said that; “Dr Kachikwu is not a man of wastage and has not tried to abuse his position as a Minister. The Dr Kachikwu that we know is a prudent person just like the President  and patriotic citizen unlike his accusers and their sponsors.”

The group stated that; “It is also not true that the Minister approved Special Advisers to his wives. Those behind these recent accusations are petty, devilish  and wicked. We have done our investigations as usual and discovered that the accusations are coming from the same people who have been working night and day to see that the Minister is shown the way out by the President. But they will continue to fail in their evil mission against the Minister who means well for this administration and Nigerians”.

“The Minister has zero tolerance for corruption and he is in the forefront of the anti-corruption of President Buhari. His accusers should give him a breathing space as he is out on a patriotic mission”.

According to the group; The success of the numerous achievements of the Minister  is giving his accusers who have been feeding fat on Oil Subsidy sleepless nights and doing everything to pull down a God sent man in order to have their way, but it is our prayer that by the grace of God, they will never succeed because Dr Kachikwu is on a divine mission”.

It also wrote;”As a credible oil monitoring group, we are not going to accept the campaign of hate against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources who is pained about the suffering of Nigerians and working hard with the President to give Nigerians a better deal and we wish to state here that enough is enough to these baseless accusations and blackmail of the Minister”