General
Groups Insist Buhari Must Sack Mele Kyari for ‘Gross Incompetence’
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President Muhammadu Buhari has again been asked to immediately sack the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr Mele Kyari, “for gross incompetence.”
This call was made by the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) and allied civil society groups under the aegis of the Coalition of the National Civil Society Organisations (CNCSOs).
In a statement made available to Business Post, the group said the comments made by Mr Kyari have continued to justify that he should be removed from his position because he is leading the organisation in the old way despite the change of identity.
In the statement jointly signed by the Secretary General of CNPP, Mr Willy Ezugwu, and the National Secretary of CNCSOs, Mr Ali Abacha, it was stated that “the only option left for the NNPC GCEO Mallam Mele Kyari is to resign forthwith.”
The groups were reacting to media reports credited to Mr Kyari that the NNPC should not be blamed for the persistent smuggling of petroleum products across the borders and his claims that his life was being threatened for working to reform Nigeria’s oil sector.
They said by “blaming continued smuggling of petroleum products on sustained corrupt subsidy regime, with no individual or company undergoing diligent prosecution, the NNPC has proved beyond reasonable doubts that the management team of the company needs immediate replacement as they have run out of profitable ideas.”
“Today, the perennial petroleum products scarcity occasioned by corruption and incompetence on the part of the NNPC management team led by Mallam Kyari remains an ugly part of the daily lives of poor masses in Nigeria who cannot afford a single meal per day due to high cost of food and other basic needs.
“Out of experience, Nigerians are aware that any marginal increase in the pump price of petroleum products results in an obvious increase in food prices as the movement of goods from one location to another depends largely on road transportation.
“This is why the secret in the pump price of petrol, and non-availability of fuel at most fillings stations, including those operated by the NNPC, remain the indelible footprints of incompetent managers of Nigeria’s petroleum resources.
“We were shocked that while speaking at a summit organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption, Mallam Kyari insinuated that `as long as arbitrage is there, you will continue to have these issues and you cannot hold NNPC accountable for it because it is a value chain that involves everything and everybody.`
“This obvious expression of helplessness by the GCEO of NNPC Limited is the highest level of the display of incompetence by the managers of Nigeria’s oil industry, as leadership is all about taking responsibility and providing solutions to challenges.
“The trademark of the NNPC has been the manufacturing of excuses. Is NNPC saying that they cannot set up a monitoring team and systems that will ensure that fuel lifted from their depots is delivered at the assigned destination in this computer age?
“Recently, the same NNPC blamed fuel scarcity in the country on the flooding of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital. Today, the company has returned to the age-long tale of blaming smuggling for fuel scarcity, even when the Federal Government has all the security apparatuses to arrest such trends should there be such sabotage.
“The question is; why has NNPC not initiated any new refinery project if it thinks that fuel subsidy is a major problem?” the statement said.
On the alleged threats to his life by those who are opposed to changes caused by the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, the coalition said, “the GCEO of NNPC gave himself out when he said that “There is a threat to life, I can say this, I have several death threats, but we are not bothered about this”.
“We, therefore, challenge the GCEO of the NNPC to make public any evidence of such threats to his life or present the same to security agencies if indeed the threat to his life narrative is not another round of fabrication to seek public sympathy by shading crocodile tears.
“Why would those behind such a criminal act as a threat to the life of an occupier of such an important position in Nigeria’s economy not be apprehended and brought to book so that the country can reap the benefits of the Petroleum Industry Act?
“We recall that the NNPC has been severally accused of failing to meet Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the international oil market, which the company conveniently blamed on oil thieves.
“When accused of not refining Petroleum products locally, the NNPC management resorted to the known wasteful venture referred to as a Turn-Around-Maintenance of existing Nigeria’s refineries.
“Since the life of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, Nigeria’s refineries remained comatose with no plans to build any new one because the huge budgets for subsidy and maintenance of irredeemable refineries end up in private pockets.
“Needless to mention the numerous uninvestigated allegations of non-remittances of oil revenues to the Treasury Single Account (TSA), subsidy payments without appropriation, illegal oil swap deals and sales, among economic sabotage from within.
“These are among the cases the incoming administration must confront to uncover the hands behind these dirty deals and sanitise the oil sector after May 29, 2023,” the groups stated.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has explained why it initiated a move to freeze the bank account of the Osun State government.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Governor of Osun State, Mr Ademola Adeleke, claimed that the anti-money laundering agency asked one of its bankers, First Bank, not to release funds to the state government.
According to the Governor, this was part of the strategies to frustrate his administration ahead of the August 15, 2026, governorship election in the state.
Reacting to the issue on Wednesday night, the EFCC, in a statement, said it has been investigating the state government since March 2026 over an alleged “fraudulent handling of Ecology Funds, Intervention Funds and Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) account to the tune of N11.0 billion.
The organisation noted that some officials of the state government, especially the Accountant General of the State, have had interview sessions with investigators of the EFCC.
“These ongoing investigations of the state government would not have warranted any placement of Post No Debit order on its account but for the precipitate and unwarranted movement of funds from the accounts to different suspicious accounts since August 2, 2026.
“The commission noticed huge transfers of funds into different corporate entities and had to swiftly halt the trend by freezing the accounts from which such heavy funds are being moved,” parts of the statement said.
In the disclosure, the agency noted that its preventive mandate is a public-inclined framework of safeguarding public funds, assets and resources, stressing that it cannot “watch idly while a state government’s account is being pillaged.”
“While the commission is fully aware of the impending governorship election in Osun State, it has a responsibility to act in defence of the sanctity of the funds of the state. It will be uncharitable for the commission to allow an excuse of an upcoming election to fold its arms to perform its legally-assigned functions,” it pointed out.
The EFCC disclosed that it is “keeping watch over the finances of other states like Osun State. Many of these states are on the investigative radar of the commission to ensure accountability and probity. The commission has always pointed out that it is non-partisan and non-sectarian but always working in the overall interests of Nigerians. The Osun State government account was frozen to save public funds from being looted.”
The organisation urged the public “to ignore false narratives and deliberate demonisation of the works of the EFCC. The interests of all Nigerians are greater and will always be protected by the commission.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has launched a mobile application designed to monitor fuel consumption patterns in real time across retail outlets nationwide.
The NMDPRA, established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, is responsible for the technical and commercial regulation of Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum operations. The deployment of the mobile application aligns with the authority’s broader efforts to leverage technology to improve regulatory compliance and strengthen accountability.
The pilot phase of the project began on August 1 in Abuja and its six Area Councils, the authority said in a statement published on X.
As part of the rollout, the Executive Director for Distribution Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure (DSSRI), Mr Ogbugo Ukoha, led a team alongside officials from the Abuja Regional Office to assess the readiness and operational performance of the digital platform at participating retail outlets.
According to the NMDPRA, the application captures inventory and compliance data in real time, enabling regulators to monitor fuel distribution more effectively while improving operational efficiency across the sector.
The authority said the platform would generate reliable, data-driven insights to support evidence-based decision-making, strengthen national energy security planning and enhance transparency in the downstream petroleum industry.
It added that the initiative is expected to provide significant value to government, investors, operators and other stakeholders by improving access to accurate fuel consumption and compliance data.
Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector has undergone significant changes since the deregulation of the petrol market and the removal of fuel subsidies, with regulators placing greater emphasis on data-driven supervision to ensure product availability, prevent supply disruptions and discourage sharp regional disparities in distribution.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
No doubt, moving money among African markets remains a slow, fragmented process that relies on multiple intermediaries and prolonged settlement cycles.
To solve this issue and drive the development of stablecoin-enabled payment services for businesses across the continent, Onafriq has joined forces with a leading stablecoin infrastructure provider, Privy.
The collaboration will enable Onafriq to create and manage embedded digital asset solutions for its partners and, in time, institutional clients where regulation allows. The initial phase focuses on cross-chain stablecoin transfers and treasury and settlement workflows, creating the foundation for future cross-border payment and liquidity solutions.
Integrating Privy’s secure infrastructure enables Onafriq to build the capabilities required to support a new generation of efficient digital payment services for banks, fintechs, and mobile money operators.
This partnership is a key component of Onafriq’s broader strategy to modernise pan-African payment infrastructure, enabling secure multi-modal wallets and more efficient movement of value across the continent.
The outcome will support a range of future institutional use cases, including stablecoin-enabled settlement, treasury management and liquidity services, as it reflects Onafriq’s commitment to driving Africa’s digital transformation agenda by investing in technologies that make financial services more efficient, connected and accessible.
It was gathered that Onafriq selected Privy for its enterprise-grade infrastructure to enable the seamless integration of digital asset wallet capabilities into its products, subject to regulatory approval, and deliver a simple user experience while abstracting the complexity of blockchain technology.
“At Onafriq, we keep investing in technology that makes payments faster and more accessible. Privy gives us a building block for faster settlement and better liquidity management. As demand for digital asset services grows, our goal is to ensure Africa’s payment ecosystem benefits securely and in line with regulatory frameworks,” the Group Chief Product and Innovation Officer at Onafriq,” Mr Luke Kyohere, said.
The chief executive of Privy, Mr Henri Stern, said, “Stablecoins will play an increasingly important role in the future of global payments, but real-world adoption depends on infrastructure that is secure, scalable and simple to implement. Working with Onafriq allows us to help build that foundation across Africa and beyond.”
