The Coalition for Good Governance and Open Leadership in Nigeria has said that a faction of the defunct Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP) is trying to blackmail the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the group chief executive officer, Mele Kyari.
Declan Ihekaire, the international coordinator of the civil society group, made the announcement at a press conference on Thursday. According to Ihekeire, whistleblower George Udoh is the sponsor of “numbers of false allegations” against Kyari.
He said the CNPP is actively participating in the investigation of the NNPC and its management into the company’s “efforts to remove fuel subsidies”. The coordinator of the group emphasized that although it is very important for citizens to demand transparency from public institutions, accusations of financial mismanagement should not be used as a political weapon to achieve ulterior motives.
He said, “Over the past few weeks, there has been a sustained campaign of calumny, against the management and the group Chief Executive of the Nation’s flagship oil company, that is, the NNPC.
“We have since noticed a series of attempts, by some individuals, masquerading as crime investigators and civil society leaders, to exploit the series of questions that have been raised by Nigerians, in respect of the activities of the NNPC, in order to blackmail and extort the company.
“Earlier today, we were confronted with another in the series of the desperation of these elements, in their premeditated plot to blackmail the management of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and its Chief Executive, Mr. Mele Kyari, by the Conference of Nigeria Political Party (CNPP), who after due diligence, we realized was being sponsored by one Mr George Udoh, a self-acclaimed billionaire whistleblower.”
