President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been called upon to sanction the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, for allegedly misleading Nigerians on the revitalisation of the Port Harcourt refinery.

The Network of Oil Producing Communities in Nigeria (NOPCN), behind the call, noted that it was unfortunate that the NNPCL allegedly loaded dead stocks left in the storage tank of the Port Harcourt refinery facility since 2016.

NOPCN President, Engr. Igeniwari Edward, in a statement on Sunday, claimed that what NNPCL did was to evacuate fuel into waiting trucks, making the President and Nigerians believe they were loading freshly refined products into those trucks.

NOPCN argued that it was not surprising that the NNPCL shut down the refinery sooner than they claimed it was operating because they ran out of lies and couldn’t cajole the President any further.

“Kyari should be so sober right now, and I believe he is already aware that the much-celebrated 60,000-capacity segment of the refinery they claimed to have rehabilitated was shut down 2 days ago, and no activity is happening there any longer,” the group claimed.

“The President should not wait any further before he sacks Mele Kyari and all his accomplices in this national monumental trick they pulled on Nigerians on Tuesday. He should not only be sacked; Kyari should tell Nigerians what happened to over N17 trillion naira injected into the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries.

“Nigerians should also join our Network to say NO to the conversion of any of the refineries to a blending plant. We all know the environmental degradation our people have been facing over oil exploration and bunkering activities. We don’t want any further hazards on our land. Kyari should just deliver exactly what the government paid for and stop fighting our leaders in the host communities.”

The group threw their weight behind Chief Mgbere, Secretary to the Alesa Community Stakeholders Forum, who appeared on a national television show on Thursday, alleging that the Port Harcourt refinery only loaded six trucks on Tuesday, despite stating that 200 trucks would be picked up from the refinery daily.

He added that the many trucks parked within the premises were filled with dead stock and off-spec old products.

Alesa, one of the 10 major communities in Eleme, Rivers State, is the host community of the Port Harcourt Refinery.

But in response to the allegations, the NNPCL denied claims by the Alesa community leader. In a statement signed Friday by its Spokesperson, Olufemi Soneye, the agency said it did not lie when it said the Port Harcourt refinery was producing crude oil.

The NNPCL accused Mgbere of crass ignorance of how a refinery runs, saying it would not have dignified him with a response if not for a need to set the records straight. (The Guardian)