Take A Second Look At The Data Churned Out By NNPCL: Group Advises Yinubu.

 

A group, the Movement for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta (MSDND)  has called on President Tinubu to take a second look at the Data  presented by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited and Mr. Mele Kyari concerning illegal oil bunkering and refining sites in the Niger Delta Region.

Recall that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), and the Group Managing Director, Mr. Mele Kyari, had in a press statement claimed to have uncovered 38 illegal pipeline connections and 108 illegal refineries between June 22 and June 28. They also claimed that the war on crude oil theft was in full swing and that the NNPCL’s collaborations with security agencies have  continued to record remarkable progress.

But the group stated  that the number  was falsified  maintaining that "if these numbers of illegal  sites exist, how then do the people in the Niger Delta region breath? 

The group advised: "Instead of presenting false figures, Mele Kyari and his group in the NNPCL should tell Nigerians the truth about where the real leakages of Nigeria’s crude oil exist."

MSDND, through its Publicity Secretary, Kelvin Orughoe, in a statement via electronic mail on Wednesday, claimed that senior officials of the NNPCL had alleged  that the  falsification of Data was meant to  deceive the Presidency and President Bola Tinubu.

 MSDND also alleged that , the recent series of conflicting claims and Data released by Mr. Mele Kyari on the state of the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) at the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries and the unexplainable difficulty faced from the NNPCL by the Dangote Refineries to access crude oil showed that Mr. Mele Kyari and his people were not saying the truth.

 

The group further argued that the recent claims of a new start off dates for the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries, the claims of rising cases of illegal pipeline connections and illegal refineries in the Niger Delta region and the lopsided explanation on the NNPCL position on Dangote Refineries seeking crude from other African countries rather than Nigeria are signs of desperation.

The statement reads: President Tinubu should take a second look at the numbers presented by the NNPCL and Mr. Mele Kyari because these are falsified numbers that don't exist. 

"If these numbers of illegal bunkering and illegal refining sites exist, how then do the people  of the Niger Delta region breath? Instead of presenting false figures, Mele Kyari and his cohorts in the NNPCL should tell Nigerians the truth about where the real leakages of Nigeria’s crude oil exist."

"The claims presented by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Monday are made up of manufactured Data and are falsely meant to deceive the President and the nation. 

"According to the monthly Oil market report for June by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC),  Nigeria's oil production for June was 1.276 million barrels per day (bpd) but NUPRC stated that crude oil production increased from 1.4mb/d in May 2024 to 1.5mb/d in June 2024. Nigeria actually produced 1.27mb/d within these periods, and if condensate is removed, then the country only produced about 1m barrels per day."

 

"Mr. Mele Kyari and his cohorts should be relieved  of their jobs and probed to save Nigeria from economic sabotage and collapse. All of a sudden, Mele Kyari and company suddenly remembered that they needed to ensure that the expected TAM at the Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries works."

"The wake-up call by Mele Kyari was after we publicly faulted the outburst of the NNPCL that their manufactured Data were not consistent with what is on ground in the Niger Delta Region."

"We are writing to President Bola Tinubu not to be deceived by the false battle cry by the NNPCL using non-existence numbers of illegal refineries and the so-called massive oil theft activities in the creeks of the Niger Delta. These NNPCL acclaimed sites of 38 illegal pipeline connections and 108 illegal refineries do not exist in the creeks of the Niger Delta region." 

"Now, we are in 2024, they are still using the same distortion of facts and their old play book. They know where the leakages are coming from. How can they just wake up, after the spirited efforts of the Nigerian Navy, other security agencies and other partners to present such disgraceful data? How can the Nation's crude suddenly drop from its rising height to a disgraceful 1 million barrels per day?"

 "The Port Harcourt refinery is still not working after receiving a $1.2 billion dollars loan since 2021. Where is the money?" Also, under the leadership of Mr. Mele Kyari as the NNPCL GMD, billions of dollars in loans were procured to revamp the Kaduna refinery and other refineries across the country, where are the billions of dollars or the functioning refineries? Rather, we keep seeing and hearing doctored figures and lies from the NNPCL for over eight (8) years while Nigerians buy fuel at about N700 per litre."

"Recently, between January and March 2024, OPEC Data showed that the nation's crude oil production decreased, and Nigeria lost over $3 billion within three months. If such money is stolen in the Niger Delta region as claimed by the NNPCL, Nigerians would notice or see the money in the lives of the Niger Delta people. Instead, hardship and abject poverty is what is being experienced across the Niger Delta."