The Integrity Youth Alliance said the allegation of shady deals against NNPCL GCEO Mele Kyari is baseless and a figment of the imagination of the Concerned Stakeholders.
Responding to the allegations by “Concerned Stakeholders in the Oil & Gas Sector” that mind-boggling corruption is ongoing on a deal between the leadership of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited and Frontier Exploration Services Limited, the Board Chairman of Integrity Youth Alliance, Adewole Kehinde, said that the allegations are baseless.
“It is on record that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, is known for promoting transparency, probity, accountability, and good governance in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, so accusing him of “giving multimillion-dollar jobs to men of his ethnic bloc without due process” is without foundation in fact, Adewole said.
In response to the claim that “during the tenure of former GMD of NNPC, Dr. Mailanti Baru, the Well to be drilled and completed budgeted less than 20 million dollars in Kolmani River Field in Gombe, but under the watch of new this GMD Kyari, over 50million dollars are being used to drill and complete the same Well”, Adewole said that it is unfortunate that the entire group of “Concerned stakeholders in the Oil & Gas Sector” lack knowledge of what inflation is all about. The inflation rate in 2019 when former GMD of NNPC, Dr. Mailanti Baru, was in office stood at 11.40% compared to 2022 under Mele Kyari, which is 21.34%, so there is no way the budget will remain at 20 million dollars.
We call on the “Concerned Stakeholders in the Oil & Gas Sector” to channel their energy to support local content and remain focused if they truly are concerned about the Oil & Gas Sector in Nigeria, the statement concluded.
