The Integrity Youth Alliance has expressed its full confidence that Mele Kyari and its management team will continue to bring transparency and accountability to the benefits of subsidy removal.
Responding to a press briefing by a coalition led by Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative demanding accountability from NNPCL, the alliance, in a press release signed by its Publicity Secretary, Danjuma Lamido, said that NNPC Limited has records of Accountability and Transparency under the leadership of Mele Kyari as its Group Chief Executive Officer.
“As a group that has been monitoring the development in the NNPC Limited under Mele Kyari, we say boldly that he has helped the government lay the foundation for this new policy.
“Since he came on board in 2019 initially as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which the NNPCL has now succeeded, he has worked assiduously to help give teeth to the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, which seeks to revolutionize the operations of the Nigerian Oil and Gas sector to contribute maximally to the growth of the Nigerian economy.
“Integrity Youth Alliance is aware that there are attempts by some individuals to paint Kyari in a bad light, but for every discerning mind, it is obvious that his push, honesty, and integrity helped in grounding subsidy cabals, leading to the removal of the subsidy.
“Through Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence, Kyari has dutifully steered the NNPC Limited as a responsible corporate entity. The fortunes of the company have been turned around, and he has dared to tread where his predecessors feared to.
Kyari’s success in this regard has left oil thieves miffed, and the current attempt to get him out of office could most likely be coming from these criminals with deep pockets who are ready to deploy their ill-gotten resources to force his removal.
The group said the cabals who have been benefiting from the subsidy regime will want to fight back and that it is due to the fear of the cabal that past administrations of NNPCL have refused to introduce reforms that will impact positive change in the downstream petroleum sector for the mere fear that they will be removed from office.
“Integrity Youth Alliance, therefore, urges Nigerians to support the NNPC Limited under the leadership of Mele Kyari so that the reforms in the sector will succeed to the benefit of the government and people of Nigeria.
“This level of transparency is unprecedented in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, and we commend all the significant steps Mele Kyari and his management team have so far taken towards promoting a culture of disclosure and openness as well as fighting corruption.
Integrity Youth Alliance said that in assessing the performance of Kyari, it is important to look at his achievements from the perspective of the timing of his appointment.
“When Mele Kyari assumed duty as the Group Managing Director of the now defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on July 7, 2019, it was at a critical period not only in the life of the corporation but for the entire Nigerian oil and gas sector as well as the national economy.
“It was a turbulent period characterized by low production, the burgeoning vandalization of oil pipelines, oil theft on a grand scale, and a demoralized staff of the corporation.
“But through efficient management, all the challenges have now become history, and the company is now better poised to drive the Nigerian economy to an unprecedented boom, the statement concluded.
