By Abu Duniya, Abuja
Following the acute scarcity of petroleum products across the country, a frontline human rights group, The New Initiative for Credible Leadership, NICL has fingered Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue as one of those involved the cause of the scarcity. The group after its discovery has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC within 72 hour and the Minister of State for Petroleum and Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr Ibe Kachikwu to remove the former Managing Director of Petroleum Products And Marketing Company (PPMC), , whom he has re-assigned to Retail Services in the recent shake up at the corporation.
A statement issued on Friday by NICL’s Executive Director, Rev Steve Onwu noted that the injustice of retaining officials and even promoting officials that are known to be corrupt could have been one of the undeclared grievances of unions that called a strike following “the so called restructuring”.
The statement said “Reassigning Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue to Retail Services despite her horrific record is like rewarding Corruption with a pat on the back. Nigerians wish to know why Dr Kachikwu has decided to punish us with this unspeakable and abominable evil when our expectations were that any structuring under his watch will rid us of the virus of corruption that has crippled the oil industry.
“We are giving a 72 hour ultimatum for Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue to be removed from her new role and possibly shown the way out of the corporation for good. Failure of Dr Kachikwu and the petroleum ministry to do this will see us leading the suffering Nigerian masses to occupy the tower with a massive protest. The Minister of State for Petroleum has our assurances that the disruptions caused by workers’ unions after his announcement will pale in significance should he refuse to hearken to Nigerians on this matter.
“We are counting on the current hardship occasioned by a needless biting fuel scarcity, to which Mrs Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue is instrumental, to swell the crowd of protesters that will besiege the NNPC Towers until the Minister rescind this.” The group warned.
It argued that Dr Kachikwu has clearly proven that he has been intimidated by those who have held Nigerians and the oil industry hostage in the past.
The statement offered to provide the Minister of State for Petroleum with the factual justification to remove Mrs Nnamdi-Ogbue from Retail Services saying “She lacks credibility and integrity going by her antecedent to be anywhere near the NNPC Towers if the partial unbundling is truly meant to serve the Nigerian masses as claimed.
“She should have been redeployed to the ministry as her service is not needed under this circumstance.”It advised.
