By Francis Sadhere , Warri

The Niger Delta Coalition, has called on President Bola Tinubu to sack and probe Engr Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerians National Petroleum Corporation Limited (MMPCL) over alleged financial impropriety, misuse of authority amongst others.

The call came following the ripple effect of subsidy removal which has led to the lack of pump price regulations and mismanagement of the post subsidy regime which has also led to fuel price being sold at over 700 naira per liter in some parts of the Nation.

The group made this call in Warri during a peaceful protest held outside the gate of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Warri, Delta State.

The National Coordinator of the Niger Delta Youth Alliance, Comrade Bakpa Orerhime, who read an address on behalf of the group, lamented that under the tenure of Engr Kyari there is alleged irregularities in the awarding of oil production contracts which has casted a shadow of opacity over remittances to the Federation Account, giving rise to grave concerns about transparency and accountability in these financial transactions.

They alleged that under Engr Kyari thre is dubious procurement of pipeline surveillance contracts, devoid of transparent selection process, noting that this has sparked multitude of questions about the responsible management of their critical responsibilities.

“As concerned and dedicated citizens of the Niger-Delta region, we fervently implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take immediate action to remove him from office and institute a comprehensive inquiry into his conducts.

“Nigeria is often characterized as a nation blessed with abundant oil resources. Nevertheless, a glaring deficiency within the NNPC is the presence of dormant refineries scattered across the country. The NNPC boasts four refineries, two in Port Harcourt and one each in Warri and Kaduna. Regrettably, despite the staggering allocation of 100 billion Naira for refinery rehabilitation in 2022, these facilities, with a combined production capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, have failed to produce any refined products for the past several years.

“This lamentable situation has forced Nigeria, the continent’s largest oil producer, to heavily depend on imported petroleum products due to the NNPC’s inability to operate its refineries efficiently. As a result, the nation’s economic backbone is irrefutably tethered to fuel prices and supply. As expected, a disruption in this vital sector would undoubtedly plunge the entire economy into a state of peril, a scenario we are already witnessing

“The adverse ripple effect of this heavy reliance on the oil industry is unmistakably visible in Nigeria’s inflation rate, which reached a staggering 25.80% in August of this year.

“As a collective of concerned and dedicated Niger-Deltans, we vow to uphold the law and employ peaceful demonstrations as a means to beseech President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to remove Engr. Mele Kyari from his position and launch an investigation into the leadership and management of NNPCL under his stewardship, specifically addressing the urgent issue of refinery revitalization.

“We implore President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to take decisive action, relieving him of his role and instigating the much-needed transformation of our beleaguered refineries, ultimately mitigating Nigeria’s reliance on fuel imports,” the group stated.

The address was co-signed by the National Chairman of Niger Delta Women for Change, NDWC, Bridget Ogjenekohwo; the President of the Niger Delta Youth Empowerment Network, NDEN, Comrade Elvis Abebiyein; and the Regional Coordinator, South-South United Youth Association ,SSUYA, Comrade Peter Okprogboro.