***says removal of Eyesan, Ajiya, face-saving for Kyari, others
By Comfort Olayinka
Despite the decision of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), to end Importation of Petroleum Products and patronize Dangote and other local refineries, there has been a rise in petrol importation by marketers in Nigeria over the last few days.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dr. Robinson Onuh, the Executive Director of Energy Reforms Advocates of Nigeria (ERAN), on Monday.
Dr. Onuh’s outcry was also coming on the heels of the sack of some board and top management team of the NNPCL, wherein, Umar Ajiya and Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan were relieved of their positions as Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President (Upstream), respectively.
The NNPCL, while announcing the sack of Ajiya and Eyesan Wednesday night, said it was aimed at enhancing “corporate governance and operational efficiency, reflecting NNPC’s commitment to long-term success in Nigeria’s energy sector”.
But Dr. Onuh in a statement, said the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari was embarking on a face-saving re-organisation of the NNPCL at a time Nigerians were asking him to go, saying, “this is cheating and to be clever by half”.
He insisted Kyari; the CEO of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed; the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr Gbenga Komolafe; and others currently holding sway in the oil and gas regulatory agencies, were the main problem of the energy sector.
“We welcome the news of the minor shakeups in the top management body of the NNPCL. But the major shakeups is what we are expecting to hear. The likes of Mele Kyari, Farouk Ahmed and co, are the major problems of the system. These ones they sacked on Wednesday was just mere face-saving by Kyari, who is just clever by half”, the statement said.
The group lambasted NNPCL management for what it describes as “playing politics with people’s lives and the nation’s economy”, adding that it was dishonorable for the agency to back track on its decision to end Importation of Petroleum Products.
“According to a report at our disposal, between October 1 and November 11, Nigeria imported 1.5 million metric tonnes of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), 414,018 metric tonnes of diesel, and 13,500 metric tonnes of aviation fuel.
“These volumes translate to over 2 billion litres of petrol, 500 million litres of diesel, and 17 million litres of jet fuel, with a cumulative cost of nearly N3 trillion.
“This continued importation raises concerns about the impact on Nigeria’s local refining sector, particularly with the operational Dangote Refinery and the nation’s owned refineries still in comatose, despite the trillions of naira injected into them by the government.
“The same Kyari who told us on Monday that the NNPC had ended importation and was committed to distributing fuel across the country, nade a u-turn few days later to deny his own statement. This is the kind of integrity the man who is deciding the fate of over 150 million Nigerians using petroleum products, is made of.
“This same Kyari has been promising Nigerians, giving us hopeless hope that the Port Harcourt refinery would resume operations before September 30. But now he has run out of excuses. Nigerians continue to buy adulterated and high sulphur contaminated fuel, while Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries remain in comatose, despite trillions of naira injected into them”, the statement read.
It would recall that, the NNPCL’s GCEO, Kyari, disclosed on Monday at a conference of the Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists, in Lagos, that the oil marketers and NNPCL had resolve to end Importation by patronizing Dangote and other locally refined petroleum products, the decision which attracted accolades from Nigerians, within and abroad.
But in a statement on Thursday, signed by the spokesperson of NNPCL, Olufemi Soneye, the agency said Kyari never claimed NNPCL would cease importing petrol into the country but emphasized prioritizing the patronage of local refineries, such as the Dangote Refinery, adding that, the statement was a “mischaracterization”.
