The Arewa Citizens Watch for Good Governance (ACWGG), a watchdog group advocating good governance, has announced plans for massive protests on August 3rd to express dissatisfaction with the leadership of Mr. Mele Kyari, the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).
The group is calling for Kyari’s immediate sack in response to the recent increase in the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, which has exacerbated widespread hunger in the Northern part of the country.
The ACWGG also highlighted the 2022 and early 2023 artificial fuel scarcity that resulted in long queues at filling stations.
“Miraculously, the queues disappeared immediately after the 2023 general elections.
“The endemic and systemic corruption that the corporation is known for encouraged the racketeering in the defunct subsidy administration which ended up lining the pockets of major marketers with petro-dollars.
He said this further reduced resources available for the usage of the common people,” he said.
Abbas explained that most Nigerians believed that the forces behind the scarcity and unwarranted increase in the price of PMS were working against the interest of President Bola Tinubu, saying such notion ended up boomeranging.
“The dark forces took the fight to another dimension by persuading the then President-elect to announce the removal of the subsidy without carrying out a proper situation analysis.
“This, we believe was done to punish poor Nigerians who willingly voted for President Tinubu. Indeed, Nigerians are serving the artificial punishment which is reminiscent of the hard training our armed forces undergo.
“We are afraid that should the tribunal and Supreme Court Justices order for a rerun election today, we doubt if the president can survive it,” he said.
The Publicity Secretary perceived the termination of the subsidy regime, where the NNPCL was planning to re-award the Pipeline Surveillance Contract to the Tompolo-owned Tantita Security Company.
According to him, it was a deliberate way of passing a vote of no confidence on the Armed Forces, who are working tirelessly to ensure that Nigerians are able to sleep with their two eyes closed.
Abbas, therefore, noted that on that premise, the group was mobilising its members to converge at the NNPCL Headquarters in Abuja on Thursday, “to commence mass civil action that will force the NNPCL supreme ruler to either step aside or be sacked by President Tinubu.”
“We understand that things are very tough for our compatriots. They either come out to protest their way to freedom or stay home to acquire stomach ulcer which might lead to their ultimate end,” he said.
He called on security agencies to mobilise their men to give the group the necessary protection, noting that “we will only exercise our inalienable rights to peaceful protest.
