The Niger Delta Peoples Assembly, a sociopolitical group, has expressed its disapproval of a recent protest in Warri, Delta State. The protest called for the removal of Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), citing alleged misconduct and other grievances.
In a press statement signed by Richard Okotie, the National Coordinator of the group, it was suggested that the protest was orchestrated by an unnamed individual with personal interests. The individual had a pipeline surveillance contract that was not renewed by NNPCL due to non-performance.
The statement alleged, “The monarch failed miserably alongside his illicit oil barons and has become more frustrated by recent nationalistic policies of Mele Kyari to retool the NNPCL.”
The controversy stemmed from the refusal of NNPCL’s GCEO, Mele Kyari, to renew the non-performing pipeline surveillance contracts, which had expired the previous September. The statement claimed that these pipelines in the areas under the monarch’s control were frequently compromised and vandalized by oil thieves, while the monarch had received millions of dollars for work that was not completed.
The group implied that the protest was an attempt to pressure Mele Kyari into renewing the contracts, but the CEO had refused to be swayed by such pressures.
This statement highlights the tension surrounding the non-renewal of certain contracts and the wider issue of transparency and accountability in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.