Ohanaeze, Arewa want sponsors of phoney groups blackmailing NNPCL operations arrested

Apex Igbo socio-cultual organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide and Arewa Group, the Northern Defence Network, have dissociated themselves from attacks by some faceless groups against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its group chief executive officer, Mr. Mele Kyari.

A group, which calls itself ‘Coalition of GMD NNPC Mele Kyari Must Go’, had in a letter to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, demanded Kyari’s immediate removal from office.

It claimed that some ethnic youth groups and coalitions were part of the movement.

But Ohanaeze and Arewa group in separate statements on Saturday condemned and distanced themselves from the anti-Kyari movement, stressing that it was a ‘sham’ being sponsored and promoted by blackmailers.

The two socio-cultural groups further called on security agencies to arrest and prosecute the sponsors and leaders of the groups which they described as notorious in the business of blackmailing government officials.

A statement by the national president of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike said the group was self-serving.

Okwu, noted that contrary to claims, the NNPC under Kyari had indeed fared well.

Ohanaeze urged President Tinubu to ignore people who were masquerading to be protecting the interest of Nigerians, but had their mission buried in the selfish desires of a few cabal in the oil and gas industry.

He said from the 2019 till date, myriads of achievements had been made under Kyari.

He identified some of them to include: “Exploration in the inland basins – drilling of the Kolmani River II Well culminating in oil found in commercial quantity in the Upper Benue Trough.

“Resolution of the dispute involving Shell and Belema Oil that shut in over 30,000barrels per day production in OML 25.

“Execution of the Abo OML 125 Heads of Terms leading to the resolution of the issues around most of the deep offshore Production Sharing Contracts. This paved the way for the renewal of OML 125 and further investment.

“Resolution of dispute agreements with SNEPCo and other PSC partners to resolve the disputes around another deep offshore block, OML 118, leading to the renewal of that acreage with the prospect of a new $10billion investment in the development of the Bonga South-East Field.

“Successful resolution of 1993 PSC dispute which holds over 90% of our Deepwater production has pave way for unlocking over 7 Billion barrels of oil, 20Tcf of gas reserves, potential investment of up to US$40Bn over the next five (5) years, and at the same time relieves NNPC of almost US$10Bn in contingent liabilities.”

On gas development, the Igbo youth group said Kyari leadership had among other things seen to the “final Investment Decision on the NLNG Train 7 Project in December 2019. The project is expected to generate over $20billion of revenue to the Government over the project’s lifecycle, 10,000 direct and 40,000 indirect jobs.

“Signing of the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract of the NLNG Train-7 project with the SCD JV Consortium comprising affiliates of Saipem, Chiyoda and Daewoo.

“Flag off of the construction of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline project on 30th June, 2020. The project which has been described by the President as a game-changer is an integral part of the Trans-Nigeria Gas Pipeline (TNGP) with a capacity to transport about 2.2billion cubic feet of gas per day.

“Commissioning of the Oredo Integrated Gas Handling Facility (IGHF) and the Liquefied Petroleum Gas Storage and Dispensing Unit.

“Execution of a JV agreement with NIPCO to market and distribute CNG as part of the Auto gas project which is targeted as substituting gas as the transport fuel.
“Final Investment Decision (FID) on Brass Gas Hub with the Brass Fertilizer and Petrochemical Company for the $3.6bn Brass Methanol Plant in Odioma, Bayelsa State.

“Signing of a $260m financing agreement for the Assa-North Ohaji South (ANOH) Gas Project with Seplat. The project will deliver 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day and 1,200 megawatts of electricity to the domestic market.

“On 22 April, 2021, NNPC executed a Gas Development Agreement (GDA) for the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 143 with its partner, Sterling Oil Exploration and Production Company (SEEPCO). The project will boost the nation’s gas production by 1.2trillion cubic feet (tcf).

“The Corporation also secured the United State Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) Grant and commenced the upgrade of 1350MW Abuja IPP project development to World Bank Standard for bankability,” as well as Maiduguri Emergency Power Project and Gwagwalada IPP Project.

He added that as the sole importer of petroleum products in the country, “NNPC had succeeded in keeping the nation wet.

“NNPC has emplaced a stable fuel supply system to guarantee zero fuel queues throughout the country.”

The groups further call on security operatives to arrest and prosecute of agents of the movement.

On its part, chairman of the Northern Defence Network, Abubakar Nuhu Sani, called for the arrest of leaders of the ‘Kyari Must Go Now’ group in order to interrogate their motives of threatening to shutdown Nigeria’s economic activities by occupying strategic national assets and exposing nude women unto the streets.

Sani said the “the authors of the senseless petition, apparently commissioned by self-appointed enemies of the NNPCL GCEO, in an attempt to rub President Tinubu in their unstatesmanlike, misguided misadventure, claimed to be his key supporters after which they threatened to mobilize and organize a one million youth march to compel compliance.

“Constituting themselves into an imminent national security threat and apparent saboteurs of the Tinubu administration, the authors of the felonious petition, some of whom claim to be lawyers, vowed to shut down such critical national economic assets as the East-West Road, the Benin-Ore Road, Abuja-Lokoja Road, the Asaba-Onitcha Road and mobilize another 5OO youths to shut down the NNPC Towers, Abuja,” he said.

According to Sani, these are actions that are not only felonious and sabotaging the nation’s progress but also pose a significant threat to national security.

Therefore, it is imperative that these groups be dealt with accordingly to safeguard the nation’s economic stability and security.

He said the threat by these groups to shut down critical Nigerian national economic assets, such as major roadways and the NNPC Towers, are felonious, sabotaging, and pose a significant threat to national security.

“The disruption of transportation routes and the oil industry undermines economic progress, regional integration, and foreign investment. Moreover, these actions can lead to social unrest, fuel shortages, and violence, jeopardizing the nation’s stability,” he said.

While calling for the arrest of the identified signatories to the petition in order to safeguard Nigeria’s economic stability and security, Abbah said swift action must be taken to ensure the uninterrupted flow of economic activities, protect national progress, and maintain the safety and well-being of Nigerian citizens.

“In another apparent rush to please their sponsors and earn their pay, the uncultured authors of the mindless petition threw decency to the winds by threatening to resort to primitive tactics involving dragging nude women unto the streets in their protests,” he said.
Sani noted that whereas public protests have long been an essential tool for individuals and groups to express their grievances and advocate for change, however, the effectiveness and ethical boundaries of such protests have been clearly defined.

“This particular immoral tactic of threatening to expose nude women on the streets is certainly unacceptable and should not be allowed by the authorities.

“To threaten to expose nude women on the streets in the name of protest is an uncivilized, indecent, indecorous, primitive, immoral and filthy act that should not be tolerated. It violates personal dignity, erodes public decency, degrades the protest message, and exposes women to potential harm and exploitation. Instead, protests should strive to uphold the principles of respect, inclusivity, and constructive dialogue to effect meaningful change.

“Authorities must take a firm stance against this threat by immediately arresting and interrogating the motives of the signatories to the petition to ensure the preservation of a civilized society that values the rights and dignity of all its members,” he said.