joshuaGROUP ROOTS FOR REMOVAL OF UGOCHINYERE AS CHAIRMAN, HOUSE COMMITTEE ON PETROLEUM
An Enugu based pressure group, the Ohaneze Think Tank, on Friday called for the investigation of house of Representatives member, Hon Ikenga Ugochinyere over his futile attempt to derail the commendable progress made by the Group CEO of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari.
The Ohaneze Think Tank in a Press Statement signed by Dr Azubuike Ajuluchukwu (Coordinator) and Dr Cletus Akinyili (Deputy Coordinator), equally rooted for the removal of Ugochinyere as Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum (Midstream).
According to the group, it is disheartening that after a public outcry, the House of Representatives finally dissolved the so-called committee that was supposed to investigate the frivolous allegations against the Group CEO of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, by the so-called group of 15 members of the House, making it clear that the matter should not end there.
Specifically, the group said that the scandalous committee of 15 led by Representative, Ikenga Ugochinyere must also be investigated as a deterrent, saying that Ugochinyere has grossly abused his position as chairman of the Ad-hoc House Committee on Petroleum Products for reasons best known to him but which are hardly consistent with the public interest.
The group noted that rather than facing the crucial task, the Ugochinyere-led committee jumped to a spiteful conclusion that Kyari and the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPR, Farouk Ahmed, should be sacrificed even before scratching the surface of a thorough investigation and said that it was a shame that a man who claims to be a lawyer did not think about a fair hearing.
The group lamented that hiding under the cloak of the Deputy Spokesman of the House, Rep. Philip Agbese, Ugochinyere ignited a media agenda against the NNPCL management, feeding his colleagues in the House, especially the leadership and the general public with falsehood and a deliberate attempt to destroy Kyari’s reputation by criticising him unfairly and dishonestly to please those whose bidding he was willing to do at all cost.
“But for the swift intervention of about 120 members of the House under the aegis of “1 Agenda”, Ugochinyere and his cohorts were poised to impose their sinister agenda on the House and the Nigerian public. The only way he and people like him can learn a lesson is for them to be investigated. What is their interest in the Dangote Refinery? We align ourselves with the views of “1 Agenda” that the calls for Kyari’s removal are baseless, unfair and hypocritical”, the group said.
The group stated that he deserves commendation for his leadership and transformation of NNPC Ltd, increasing crude oil production from 800,000 bpd to 1.6 million bpd, saying that; “-We have every reason to suspect that the calls for Kyari’s removal are targeted at the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the petroleum minister”.
The group therefore, called on the House not to stop at dissolution of the the adhoc committee set up to implement the scandalous agenda of Ugochinyere and his ilk but also to investigate Ugochinyere’s interest in the Dangote Refinery further
