Some critical stakeholders in the Nigeria’s Oil and Gas Sector on Sunday in Portharcourt, Rivers State alleged mind-boggling corruption in the ongoing deal between the leadership of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) and the Frontier Exploration Services Limited.
The group under the aegis of “Concerned Stakeholders in the Oil & Gas Sector” who converged at a hotel in the State capital, accused the Group Managing Director of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari of indulging in shady deals; a rip-off of the nation’s economy.
Addressing newsmen, the group through its spokesperson, Comrade Alege Emmanuel, urged the federal government to institute a probe panel into the activities of the NNPCL since the period GMD Kyari took over.
“We are concerned stakeholders in the Oil and Gas sector who felt worried about the ongoing mind-boggling corruption in the deal that the NNPCL under Mele Kyari struck with the Frontier Exploration Services and others they described as ‘Portfolio Managers”.
“We are unequivocal about our resolve to help the Federal Government expose the GMD and his cohorts hiding under an ethnic agenda to frustrate other key stakeholders and undermine their interests in the sector.
“The GMD has been acting like an ethnic jingoist favoring people from his ethnic background to secure contracts from the NNPCL without requisite experience, equipment, and wherewithal to execute such deals at the expense of other qualified indigenous drilling contractors.
“The GMD Kyari on several occasions gave multimillion dollar jobs to men of his ethnic bloc without due process. These without drilling equipment would in turn Re-Award the same to other firms with drilling equipment.
“Several cases of Etihad Oilfield Services giving such re-awarding such contracts to Petrodynamics were alleged by these Concerned Stakeholders. They described such occurrences and double payments as nothing but ‘rackets’.
“To this end, we are urging the President, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to beam their searchlights into the NNPCL and activities of the Frontier Exploration Services Limited with a view of stopping the madness going on which has deprived the nation of multimillion dollars.
“There is therefore an urgent reason why President Bola Tinubu needs to look into activities of frontier exploration services limited.
“For instance, during the tenure of the former GMD of NNPC, Dr. Mailanti Baru, the Well to be drilled and completed budgeted less than 20million dollars in Kolmani River Field in Gombe but under the watch of the new this GMD Kyari, over 50million dollars is being used to drill and complete the same well.
“This is in addition to the subsidy scam in the NNPCL operations under Mele Kyari. This country belongs to all of us and stakeholders, we can no longer fold our arms and watch helplessly as the corruption in the NNPCL stinks to high heaven,” Emmanuel added.
Meanwhile, as of press time, efforts made to get the reaction of both the GMD and the Frontier Exploration Services Limited on these allegations were abortive as calls and messages sent to their lines were neither acknowledged nor returned.
