.. appeals to Niger Delta youths to stop protests
A Non-Governmental Organization, NGO, Citizens for Equality and Good Governance Nigeria, CEGGN, has appealed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ignore what it described as staged attacks on the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari.
The group described the attacks as “unpatriotic,” saying the move was capable of jeopardizing the reforms being implemented by the current NNPCL leadership.
CEGGN leader and convener, Comrade Robert Terfa Swem, made the appealbin a press conference Thursday in Abuja.
He accused some unnamed political figures of hatching plots to set the stage for Ojulari’s removal, “thereby paving the way for the return of illegal oil bunkering activities in the Niger Delta.”
According to the group, the renewed calls for the removal of the NNPCL boss is self-serving and targeted at sabotaging the nation’s economy, thereby derailing the steady recovery of Nigeria’s economy under the president’s watch.
“The new NNPCL leadership has successfully blocked leakages in the oil sector, which led to increased production capacity of Nigeria, resulting in the country’s meeting its OPEC quota for the first time in history,” noted Swem.
He described as “baseless and unfounded” allegations leveled against the NNPCL boss, whom he said has, since assuming office, “has proved cynics wrong and shown sufficient proof that Nigeria can get oil production right.”
The group linked the meeting of Nigeria’s 2025 revenue target to the relentless war waged by the federal government through the company’s support to end illegal oil bunkering.
“The successes recorded through the huge reforms in the NNPCL by Ojulari is responsible for the mounting campaign of hate and blackmail against him,” regretted the group.
The group appealed “to youth of the Niger Delta to refrain from being used by those who do not wish the country well,” stressing that “the sterling performance of the new management team at NNPCL will
add value to the re-election bid of President Tinubu come 2027.”
Those peddling allegations against Ojulari, said Swem, who doubles as a youth mobilizer, are actually working against President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda and his re-election.
Swem frowned at what he described as the ethnic colouration the campaign against Ojulari had assumed, reminded that Nigeria belongs to all, and that no part should be used by individuals to promote their selfish interests.
‘We appeal to President Tinubu to disregard such distractions, as Nigeria is set to witness the full benefits of being an oil-producing country,” he declared.