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Tinubu’s oily mess, NNPC ’s absurdities and the mendacity of Mele Kyari

Published

2 years ago

September 11, 2024

Whirlwindnews

By Ifeanyi Izeze

For God’s sake, the fact that these people are in government or in charge of our public institutions does not mean they love the country more than all of us. And the idea of thinking they always know what they are doing more than the rest of us is what is almost running this country aground with the current mess.

How can you run the most important agency that carries the nation’s entire economy in such arrogant, reckless, and opaque manner?

The vexing arrogance and impunity we are seeing the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, display in running the affairs of the nation’s apex oil concern was birthed “small small”. He experimented this callousness with Buhari and nothing was done to either call him to order or outrightly ease him off. And now he is emboldened to do more heinous things as if Nigeria belongs to him and the evil spirits beating the drum he is dancing to.

The President could not have said this nation is not paying subsidy and then one entity under this federation that does not have powers to run but has been running as if it’s a government would come and tell us that we have been buying the fuel and augmenting shortfalls in cost even though they don’t want to use the word ‘subsidy.’ So who is in charge of our government – the President or Mele Kyari, the NNPCL Chief Executive Officer?

It was still this Kyari’s tenure in the NNPC during the immediate past administration that we first heard in this country that Nigeria did not make a dime selling over 1.5 million barrels per day of its crude oil, condensate etc. This was not once, it was not one month, it was not three months and nothing happened. The whole nation moved on as if that was the normal thing to do. How do you explain that? And Kyari usually had the temerity to tell the sitting President and the Council of State that there was no single Kobo to pay into the Federation Account for the states to share and dumbishly, all of them accepted such explanations as if they were under a spell.

Now under Tinubu’s government he has even been more emboldened obviously because he must have been part of the president’s election campaign funding using whose money – NNPC’s money, our money!

This is the same person who has been going to raise billions of dollars from foreign credit agencies in exchange for produced and yet-to-be produced nation’s share of the joint venture crude oil, as he said “to defend or rather stabilise the Naira.” Is it the business of NNPC to go abroad and borrow money for Nigeria to stabilise the Naira/economy or that of the CBN? Absurdities everywhere and those who know and should ask questions have all gone deaf and dumb. The judgement/punishment of Almighty God is real and ‘God case, no appeal’!

Whether anybody wants to hear this or not, as said in one of my analysis in 2023, this same Mele Kyari actually engineered the current ‘owigiri’ dance in prices of food items and almost every other commodity in the market particularly our domestic fuel pricing template following Tinubu’s reckless pronouncement at the Eagle Square during his inauguration. Immediately the President made his ‘kai kai’ pronouncement that “subsidy is gone and gone forever”, the NNPC man came out to contend that the new president has no right to just stop subsidy payment without consulting him to know what’s on ground on the issue.

As if that was not enough, also without consulting the president, NNPC jacked up the price of petrol overnight from N195 to N557 per litre and that was how this journey of ever-increasing prices started. Now we are at N897 per litre only at NNPC/OVH retail outlets. Elsewhere, a litre sells for between N950-N1, 300 in and around Abuja.

Buhari’s two tenures (2015-2023) saw petrol price move from N87 to N195 per litre (124% increase).

Tinubu’s slightly over one year in office has already seen the NNPC move petrol price from N195 (2023) through N557 (2023) to N617 (2023) and now N897 (2024).

“Subsidy is Gone” snowballed into ‘no dime’ to pay into the Federation Account for the states to share in addition to an outstanding debt/bill of over $6.8 billion. Haba!

The question is: Whose interest(s) is Kyari protecting?

Saudi Aramco is the NNPC of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Now close your eyes and imagine that Saudi Aramco lied to the people of Saudi Arabia. Not once, but four times. “Lie to Nigerians” was what the NNPCL have done.

The NNPCL told Nigerians that they raked in N3 trillion in profits. Guess what? International oil traders are refusing to discharge PMS, until they are paid the $6.8 billion owed to them by the same national oil company.

The initial denial of debt by the NNPC is a clear indication of an attempt to cover up and deceive the Nigerian people. It is unacceptable for a state-owned corporation to engage in such blatant deception, and Mele Kyari must be held accountable for this betrayal of public trust.

This man has to tell us where he derived the power to on his own appropriate our monies. On his own, he goes ahead to spend money without appropriation and comes back to tell us he used the money to make up for cost ‘under-recovery’. Haba, bros! Who authorized you to do that and the monies you are spending, was it appropriated because it’s our collective national wealth? Even if you claim to be a private liability company, you are sitting down there on behalf of the Nigerian government and the Nigerian people.

How can a limited liability company (NNPCL) run our nation at its whims and caprices as if there’s no government in place? The main resource of the nation’s foreign exchange earnings is oil. How do you explain that this resource is being managed anyhow by this so-called private company without the control of state agencies?

Is NNPC, whether privatised or not, running our own national assets – crude oil, natural gas, LNG, etc – on its own whims and caprices? And is it spending the monies it makes from our resources on its own whims and caprices? Where do they derive the authourity to do so?

How come they told us there was no subsidy and now coming out to tell us that not only had there been subsidy but that they are owing to the tune of over $6 billion and the only solution they have is to jack up the fuel price to almost N897 per litre? Is this not outright provocation of the Nigerian masses?

The Presidency says they do not know anything about this and that Nigerians should ask NNPC. Can you imagine what the President who is also Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum is saying about the daylight callousness and fraud in a ministry he superintends? It’s inexplicable that the President has the temerity to be telling us that NNPC has been spending that much money. The question is: on whose authourity and by whose approval? The President himself has some explaining to do to us on the recklessness of this NNPC chief executive officer.

It’s very unfortunate that the NNPC has been allowed to grow to this monster that believes it can do whatever it likes while the country and its economy continue to suffer unnecessarily.

Shouldn’t any reasonable National Assembly representing the voices of the people be calling Mele Kyari, and everybody involved in this heist with impunity, to question them and answer to Nigerians on these issues of impunity and sleaze in our oil business? Actually a serious National Assembly should be calling the President who doubles as Minister of Petroleum to come and answer charges. Appropriation is a very serious issue and no individual has the right/power to go spending humongous amounts of monies that were not appropriated.

The NNPC guys that speak from all angles of their mouths came out of the meeting last week with the Vice President Shetima to say that Dangote’s fuel price will depend on Naira exchange rate. “Foreign exchange (forex) illiquidity has been a significant factor influencing the fluctuation in prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), which are governed by unrestricted free market forces, as provided for in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.”

As said by the company/corporation, “The market has been deregulated, meaning that petrol prices are now determined by market forces rather than by the government or NNPC Ltd. Additionally, the exchange rate plays a significant role in influencing these prices.”

And this free-market forces are solely determined by NNPCL reason they did wake up in the middle of the night to adjust the price of PMS from N617 per litre to N897 per litre?

So as ‘Naira no get standing, sitting, or squatting rate – N1500 today, N1650 tomorrow, petrol price will now join it in this acrobatic gwo gwo gwo ngwo dance, right? What they are saying in other words is that, on some days it could be N900 on others it could be N1500 or more. Is that how they run a productive economy?

In all these back and forth, what is the President’s position? Unknown exactly! The silence of the President who is also the substantive Minister of Petroleum is just not only too golden, it smells more of complicity in the rubbish by the NNPCL since the inception of this administration.

Izeze writes from Abuja and can be reached via iizeze@yahoo.com or +234 (0) 803 304 3009

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US indictment of security agencies in terrorist attacks makes sense – Afenifere

Published

3 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Whirlwindnews

Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, seems to find merit in the damning verdict of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), accusing security agencies in Nigeria of complicity in the deluge of terrorist attacks in the country.

Jare Ajayi, National Secretary of the group, in agreeing with the position, posited on Wednesday: “This is because of the strong belief that the nature of terrorism bedeviling Nigeria would not be festering for this long without complicity from some powerful quarters.”

Though he acknowledged the determination of some patriotic operatives and government to stem the tide, he posited how difficult it was to believe that the activities of the terrorists would continue to thrive without active connivance.

Hear him: “With the vows by the President and top security officers, one has the feeling that the government is determined to end terrorism in Nigeria. When President Bola Tinubu appointed General Christopher Musa, (retd), as Minister of Defence, we had a lot of hope that within months, a total stop would be put to terrorism and banditry in the country.

“Unfortunately, there seems to be a spike, rather than reduction. The reason for this could be rooted in sabotage and complicity from within and from without. This tends to buttress the alarm raised by the US Commission.”

Stressing how the organisation been consistently calling the attention of authorities to areas that needed be looked into he maintained that these included politicians, who could be complicit in promoting the urgly situation.

Citing the recent comments by Godswill Akpabio, Senate President, who pointed in the same direction, Ajayi stated that no matter how unpalatable the position of the US body could be: “It is very important not to dismiss it but to use it a beacon with which to comb all areas.”

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Yes, we did it! *Mark hails ADC members for delivering on democracy

Published

3 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Whirlwindnews

“Many people doubted us. Some dismissed us. Others predicted confusion, division, and even outright collapse. But you stood firm. You kept faith with the ADC. And today, because of your commitment, our party stands taller, stronger, and more united.”

With these words, David Mark, National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) on Wednesday’s night showered praises on members for conducting what he considered a flawless presidential primary election to choose its candidate for the 2027 election.

Mark, Senate President from 2007 to 2015, his audience at the Congress Hall of Transcorp Hilton, Abuja, that by the outcome, the party had demonstrated that democracy and political competition could still thrive in Nigeria without crisis or division.

Regardless of the rejection of the result of the exercise by Rotimi Amaechi, former Minister of Transportation and Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, former Chairman of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), who contested in the exercise, the former Chairman of the National Assembly, was still upbeat about its outcome.

Atiku Abubakar, Vice President between 1999 and 2007, had emerged winner of the process that took place across Nigeria from Monday till Wednesday, when the result was eventually announced.

The declared result showed that the former VP who would be running for the nation’s number one job for a record seven times came tops with Atiku 1,846,370, to Amaechi’s 504,117 and Hayat-Deen’s 177,120. Total votes cast in the election: 2,546,457 in the 3,113,599 tally.

Mark, who officially presented the ADC flag to Atiku as the party’s presidential standard-bearer, was emphatic that the exercise was not merely about producing a presidential candidate but about proving that internal democracy could still function effectively in the country.

Hear him: “Today is not just about announcing a presidential candidate. Today is also about proving a point to Nigeria and to Nigerians. It is about proving that democracy can still work.

“Proving that political competition does not have to become political warfare. That a party can organise itself around principles instead of personalities. This event has shown that in a season of deep national anxiety, a bright future is still possible.”

Stressing that had doubted the party’s ability to conduct a peaceful and credible primary, with some predicting division and collapse within the ADC, he praised members of the Presidential Screening Committee and Presidential Primary Election Committee for what he described as their professionalism and commitment to fairness despite pressure surrounding the exercise.

“In the face of enormous pressure, logistical complexity, and intense national attention, they carried out their responsibilities with courage, discipline, and an unwavering commitment to fairness and transparency. The conduct of the primary has strengthened confidence in the party and its democratic process.

“Their work has strengthened the credibility of this exercise and reinforced the confidence of our members and the Nigerian people in the integrity of the African Democratic Congress.

“It is important to mention that we are the only political party to have three strong aspirants contest for the presidential ticket. This alone makes the ADC unique in its deep commitment to democracy and democratic practices.

“By subjecting themselves to this process, they did not merely contest an election. They strengthened democracy. And despite efforts in some quarters to create uncertainty and tension, they remained committed to this process and to the ideals of this party,” he added.

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Otti names new bus terminal after FUTO VC, who saved his 2023 mandate

Published

3 hours ago

May 28, 2026

Whirlwindnews

For Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti, the first female Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), it was another day of glory, as Alex Otti, Governor of Abia laid out another red carpet for her in lieu of her starling performance in the 2023 governorship election in the state.

The university don, was the Returning Officer of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), who was nationally recognised for standing her ground against forces that reportedly tried to skew the process, leading to the emergence of Otti as governor.

Since then, she had received several recognitions including from the governor and other bodies, including her own students at FUTO, who gave her a heroic welcome upon the conclusion of her INEC task – the first and only one to be so accorded in Nigeria.

Wednesday’s recognition came through the naming of the newly inaugurated Umuahia Central Bus Terminal, a multimodal transport facility in the state capital after her, by the governor, who said it was in recognition of her role in that exercise.

Otti, who stressed that the decision was informed by her act of courage, integrity and commitment to truth, said: “This terminal has been named after Professor Nnenna Nnannaya-Oti, the courageous INEC returning officer who demonstrated unflinching integrity in the discharge of her duties during a high-stakes election assignment here in Abia.”

The governor, while stating that the honour was not limited to don alone but symbolised all individuals who resisted electoral manipulation added: “In 2023, through her courageous disposition of standing firmly by the truth… she reminded us that ordinary people can achieve extraordinary results by simply saying no.

“So she’s just a representative of all of you—INEC staff who never bent, party officials who didn’t give in, security agencies… people who said no to intimidation.”

Stressing that the state had moved beyond basic infrastructure delivery to building an integrated transport system, he said: “The days of playing small is over. We shall no longer confine ourselves to the margins.”

He explained that the terminal was designed to accommodate over 340 buses and would improve accessibility, safety and efficiency in urban transport operations, adding that it would be supported by electric bus services, with 20 already in operation, while additional units are expected in phases.

“Services will keep improving as more buses are delivered… and you can tell with accuracy when a particular bus will arrive and depart,” he said.

He urged residents to protect the facility and support government efforts by maintaining order and paying taxes, warning against vandalism, waste disposal violations and other practices that could undermine the project, stressing that offenders would face sanctions.

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