July 18, (THEWILL) –
A group, the Movement for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND), has called on the President of Nigeria, Senator Bola Tinubu, to investigate the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), Mr Mele Kyari, over the delay in the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) project at the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries.
According to the MSDND, the call for a forensic probe became necessary, following recent conflicting data and a timeline released by Mr Mele Kyari on the state of the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) project at the refineries, stressing that the unexplainable difficulty the NNPCL is facing is causing hardship across the country, a situation they said amounts to economic sabotage.
The MSDND, through its Publicity Secretary, Kelvin Orughoe, pointed out in a statement that according to the Monthly Oil Market Report for June by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Nigeria’s oil production for June is 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd), but that they wondered why Dangote Refinery is seeking crude from other African countries rather than Nigeria.
The statement read, “The claims presented by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Monday, are made up of manufactured data and are falsely meant to deceive the President and the nation.
“NUPRC stated that crude oil production increased from 1.4mb/d in May 2024 to 1.5 mb/d in June 2024. Nigeria actually produced 1.27mb/d within these periods, and if condensate is removed, then the country only produces about 1 mb/d per day.
According to the Monthly Oil Market Report for June by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), quoting direct sources, Nigeria’s oil production for June is 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd).
Nigeria’s average daily crude oil production fell to 1.25 million barrels per day (bpd) in May 2024, a 2.34% decrease from 1.28 million bpd recorded in April 2024.
Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR) stated that crude oil exports were at 1.32 million bpd in February 2024 and 1.23 million bpd in March 2024. Nigeria recorded a $3.2b loss in Q1 (January–March 2024).
The continued stay in office of the NNPCL Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kyari, despite his years of failures, will continue to jeopardise any and all directives of President Bola Tinubu for the security agencies to tackle oil theft in the region.
“There is an urgent need to investigate the likes of Mele Kyari and their cartel over their culpability in the alleged massive oil theft that is crippling the nation’s economy before it’s too late.”
The MSDND further argued that the recent claims of new start-off dates for the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries and claims of rising cases of illegal pipeline connections and illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region are not only false but unacceptable.
Mr Mele Kyari and his cohorts should be sacked and arrested to save Nigeria from economic sabotage and collapse. All of a sudden, Mele Kyari and company suddenly remembered that they needed to ensure that the expected TAM at the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries worked.
“The false wake-up call by Mele Kyari was after we publicly faulted the outburst of the NNPCL that their manufactured data are not consistent with what is on the ground in the Niger Delta region and is a false-battle cry meant to deceive and distract President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian public.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and the Group Managing Director, Mr Mele Kyari, had also, in a press statement, claimed to have uncovered 38 illegal pipeline connections and 108 illegal refineries between June 22 and June 28.
“They also claimed that the war on crude oil theft is in full swing and that the NNPCL’s collaborations with security agencies continue to record remarkable progress.
“We have argued that the deceitful outburst by the NNPCL is from an old playbook that has been used to deceive Nigerians every year during the past eight (8) years by the same NNPCL.
“We are writing to President Bola Tinubu not to be deceived by the false battle cry by the NNPCL using non-existent numbers of illegal refineries and the so-called massive oil theft activities in the creeks of the Niger Delta.
“These NNPCL-acclaimed sites of 38 illegal pipeline connections and 108 illegal refineries do not exist in the creeks of the Niger Delta region.
“Why is it that it was when Mele Kyari was appointed NNPC GMD that our nation’s crude oil production started going down drastically, given the fact that these are the most peaceful periods in the Niger Delta region?
“The NNPCL and Mr Mele Kyari should be investigated over the $1.2 billion loan procured in 2021 to revamp the Port Harcourt refinery.
“The Port Harcourt refinery is still not working after receiving a $1.2 billion loan since 2021. Where is the money?
“Also, under the leadership of Mr Mele Kyari as the NNPCL GMD, billions of dollars in loans were procured to revamp the Kaduna refinery and other refineries across the country. Where are the billions of dollars or the functioning refineries?
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and the Group Managing Director, Mr. Mele Kyari, are the cause of hardship to over 200 million Nigerians, and they are making President Tinubu’s administration look bad. The NNPCL and its GMD, Mr. Mele Kyari, have failed woefully.
“Enough is enough! The NNPCL and Mr Mele Kyari should stop using the people of the Niger Delta to cover up their white-collar administrative oil theft and bunkering.
“President Tinubu should take a bold step and tackle the rot within the NNPCL and Mr Mele Kyari-led group.”
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
