The Niger Delta Peoples’ Assembly (NDPA) has implored President Bola Tinubu to ignore the media hype of the supposed protest calling for the removal of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
A coalition of youth associations under the banner of Niger Delta Coalition on Wednesday, staged a peaceful protest in Warri, Delta State calling for the immediate sacking of Kyari, over alleged misconducts, among others.
But NDPA in a reaction to the protest, said it was a frustrated monarch whose name the Assembly did not mentioned cutting his nose to spite his face, was behind it.
NDPA in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Richard Okotie said, the grouse of the unhappy king stems from the refusal of the NNPCL’s GCEO to renew his non-performing pipelines surveillance contracts, which expired last September.
Okotie said, the first class monarch is still dazed that Kyari, having reviewed the said contract, refused to be used, as he declined all entreaties.
According to him, crude carrying pipelines in the areas under the monarch’s control were daily compromised and vandalised by oil thieves, while he collected millions of dollars for unexecuted jobs.
The National Coordinator said the monarch was thoroughly embittered when the NNPCL management informed him that his surveillance contract would not be renewed, as it would be subsumed under a very effective and efficient global contract.
“The offence of Mele Kyari is that he refused to renew the monarch’s contract when it expired a month ago. Hence, he is baying for his blood.
“The embattled monarch is also reported to be angry with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) led by Mr. Gbenga Komolafe, for not circumventing the implementation of the PIA in his domain to his benefit. He devised desperate tactics to bypass the PIA law, but it ended in fiasco. He was roundly ignored by NUPRC and tamed by the NNPCL.
“The aggrieved monarch in cahoot with oil thieves is unimpressed with Mele Kyari’s bid to rid the NNPCL of all illegal oil operations, and had hired fake protesters to malign the committed GCEO.
“We implore Mr. President to ignore the media hype of the supposed protest. It was a frustrated monarch cutting his nose to spite his face, who was behind it.
“Mele Kyari should be preserved to continue his good works in the national interest. No one changes a winning team, rather, you strengthen it,” Okotie stated.
While dismissing the potency of the protest, he said: “That was the charade that happened in Warri recently, which those who sponsored it called a protest asking for the probe and removal from office of the GCEO of NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
“The supposed coalition protest was indeed a joke in its entirety. It was an orchestrated fiction poorly steam rolled. It did not make an impact it was intended due largely to lack of numbers, coordination and purpose.
“The brain behind the wishy washy outing was a first class traditional ruler, who considers himself very smart and so wants to harvest without planting.”
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