Anti-Corruption group under the aegis of Concerned Citizens Against Corruption, has disowned a petition against the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari.
Concerned Citizens Against Corruption, which vowed legal action, noted that a faceless group claiming to be their members, had addressed a press conference, where they made some frivolous and laughable allegations of corruption against Kyari.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Saturday, the Director Operation of the group, Comrade Emeka Uwazurike, disclosed that the imposters led by one Comrade Kabir Matazu was reported to have stormed the office of the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) on Tuesday demanding comprehensive probe and investigation into the NNPCL transactions for the past five years under Kyari.
The anti-corruption group further said the imposters in their speech, specifically alleged wide spread frauds and irregularities in the handling of Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the nations refineries under Kyari leadership.
“Ordinarily our association would have ignored this shameless group and their pay masters but for the avoidance of doubt we want to state categorically that at no time did we authorise any person or group of persons to speak on our behalf on any issue including the recent infantile attack on former managing director of NNPCL.
“The so called Matazu and his co- travellers are not known to our association and therefore cannot use our highly respected association to do the bidding of some unscrupulous and mendacious unpatriotic politicians who are on vendetta mission.
“Concern Citizens Against Corruption, was rather embarrassed by this orchestrated script which we had since discovered were designed to malign and tarnish the hard earned reputation of Kyari,” the group said.
The anti-corruption group, has, however, demanded the immediate arrest of imposters, adding, “we therefore demand the immediate arrest of the members of this group and their sponsors to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to hijack the name of the association for similar motives.
“We also at this juncture apologise to Mr Mele Kyari over this unwarranted attack on his person by these cheap blackmailers and their cohorts.”
The Association, which regretted the embarrassment this may have caused Kyari and his successful team, added, “for the records, we joined other millions of Nigerians who commended Kyari for his giant strides in turning around the business fortunes of the company in the five years he was in office.
“Even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would be shocked at the outburst of this faceless group against Kyari who while dissolving the board NNPCL led by him noted the starling achievements of the board.”
The anti-corruption group noted that Kyari’s major achievement has been the revival of Nigeria’s decade’s long moribund refineries.
“Under his leadership, long-stalled production activities at the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries have roared back to life… with the Kaduna Refinery beckoning. This audacious manoeuvre has put a lie on the long-held belief that the refineries would never come back to life.
“This move would surely engender energy security and ensure that Nigeria’s refining capacity could finally begin to meet domestic demand with much more for exports sooner rather than later.
“Kyari recognising that public refineries alone cannot meet the nation’s needs, reportedly came up with a strong collaborations with private refineries. The climax of this effort was the integration of the Dangote Refinery – a strategic partnership (This started with a direct investment in Dangote Refinery) that not only expanded Nigeria’s refining capabilities but also introduced healthy competition into a previously monopolized industry.
“Kyari’s forward-thinking approach has set the stage for a more dynamic and self-reliant energy sector. While some may wish to attribute some of NNPC’s challenges and failures to him, the discerning would rather give him his flowers for his ability to achieve results despite the tortuous and oppressive terrain.
“From overseeing the commercialization of NNPC to fostering partnerships that would ultimately bring renewed investor confidence, he has consistently delivered results.
“His commitment to opening up NNPC Limited for more transparency, epitomized by Nigeria’s compliance with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), has set a new benchmark for governance in the oil and gas sector,” the anti-corruption group said.