Concerns soar over the fate of Mele Kyari of NNPC
- ‘He is not suspended,’ NNPC insists
There was anxiety in the air over the fate the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mallam Mele Kyari, following wide spread rumours of his sack and subsequent rebuttal also by rumour channels.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited says the claims that its Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, has been suspended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is untrue.
Several social media accounts shared a report twitted by one Aina Dipo saying the Mallam Kyari who is in the eye of public agitation over the deregulation of petrol prices in the country was sacked on Saturday. But hours later several reports without verifiable sources also emerged that the sack rumour was false.
There was no immediate official declaration or statements supporting both versions of the report either from the office of the President or the NNPC Limited.
The rumour of Kyari’s sack was majorly fueled by the earlier suspension and subsequent arrest of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, who is also in the eye of the storm for several allegations bothering on misapplication of public funds.
Mallam Kyari has been a regular visitor to the National Assembly to answer questions about flow of the nation’s oil money into the federal account, but he has not been indicted on any wrongdoing.
Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Limited, Garba Deen Muhammad, later debunked the report of Kyari’s suspension, saying “it is the handiwork of mischief markers.”