…… Says corruption is fighting against Kyari’s transparency and accountability reform
The Integrity Youth Alliance has described the call by the conference of failed political parties known as the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) for the suspension of the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Limited), Mele Kyari, as having no basis fact.
Recall that the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP) has demanded that President Bola Tinubu take immediate action to suspend the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Mele Kyari, and launch a thorough public probe into several allegations against the management of the NNPC Limited.
But the Chairman, Board of Trustee of the IYA, Comrade Adewole Kehinde, in a statement in Abuja, said the call was ill-motivated with intent to arm-twist and stampede the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari, to succumb to their treacherous end.
“These accusations are merely a restatement of the identical charge he made against the NNPC a decade prior, Adewole said.
The statement reads, “On the reported statement by Emir Sanusi that “people in NNPC don’t want their lucrative subsidy scam to end,” it is on record that the former emir of Kano’s continued insistence on missing funds forced the Nigerian Senate to investigate the allegation and eventually cleared the NNPC of any wrongdoing.
“Sanusi himself, in his capacity as CBN governor, attended hearings of the Senate Committee on Finance where the issue of kerosene subsidy was exhaustively looked at vis-à-vis the presidential memo directing the removal of kerosene subsidy. The explanation was that the process of implementing the presidential directive was not followed through by the then petroleum minister as required by law, which technically meant that the kerosene subsidy was not removed.
“It was based on this that the then Senate Committee on Finance, led by Ahmed Makarfi, in its report recommended that the executive should prepare and present to the National Assembly a supplementary budget ‘to cover the expenditure of N90.6 billion for petrol subsidy 2012 and N685.9 billion for kerosene subsidy expended without appropriation by the National Assembly.
“Even the reputable auditing firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), cleared the NNPC of misappropriation of funds. The company observed in a forensic audit report that “regarding the issue of subsidy on DPK (kerosene), the Presidential Directive of 19 October 2009 was not a gazette, and there is no other legal instrument cancelling the subsidy on DPK. The Senate Committee had also concluded that all that was now required was for the FGN to propose appropriation for the unappropriated subsidy for the period in a supplemental budget.
“It will also be recalled that on 14th April 2022 at the plenary, the House considered and adopted the reviewed report on the investigation by its Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), which exonerated both the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, former Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and the suppliers in the Direct Sale-Direct Purchase deal between the Federal Government and the importers.
“Why, then, is the former Emir of Kano repeating these accusations that, upon closer examination and inquiry by internationally reputable organizations, proved to be unfounded? The accusations contradict the positive changes that the company has just undergone.
The statement read further, “There is no denying the fact that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mallam Mele Kyari, has been through thick and thin with his transparent leadership style to reposition the company.
“As a man of vision and determination, on assumption of office, Mallam Mele Kyari pledged to open the NNPC financial books to the public as part of his management’s commitment to openness, transparency, and accountability in line with the global EITI principles.
“The fact that NNPC Ltd. conducts its business in a transparent and accountable manner by international best practices is known even to the blind. The company has never inflated its claims for subsidy with the Federal Government, and all of its prior claims are verifiable because pertinent records and documents have been sent to the appropriate authorities and agencies.
“It is documented that NNPC Ltd. has independently requested external auditors to check its books multiple times, under its Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE) mantra.
“It is on record that the NNPC Limited management has been complimenting President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda because Kyari has shown to the world that Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is no longer mired in the cesspit of venality and fiscal delay; that the sector has taken off on a journey in the pathway of transparency and accountability,” they added.
“Since his reappointment by President Tinubu, Kyari has further instilled transparency, accountability, research, technology, and innovation as the key drivers of the ongoing transformation in the company.
“It is only those who want to sabotage the efforts of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to reposition and restore Nigeria’s economy that will call for the suspension of Mal Mele Kyari.
“In conclusion, we wish to state categorically that corruption is fighting back against the transparency and accountability reform that Mele Kyari has built as the foundation of the Limited Company, the statement said.
