 |
| NNPC Tower, Abuja |
Fresh facts have emerged and suggest that the circulation of the ‘non-existent July 2017 memo,’ predicting the likely shortage of PMS by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kackiwu, was a grand design by him and his cronies to discredit and embarrass President Muhammadu Buhari and his chief of staff, Mr. Abbah Kyari.
According to an industry source, "There was no such memo let alone it being suppressed by so-called Aso Rock cabal."
The source added, "Those of us who are familiar with the workings of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources are aware that since his removal as the GMD of the NNPC for inefficiency and lack of adherence to due process from multiple fronts, Kachikwu has not hidden his disdain for the government of President Buhari, under which he currently serves as a junior minister".
The source, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said further, "It is therefore not surprising that at every opportunity, he resorts to campaign of calumny and blackmail against the government and those that are saddled with responsibility of managing the oil and gas industry. These have been his trade mark," he said.
Following wide circulation of the said memo online, and realizing the implication and for fear of boomeranging effect, Kachikwu through the ministry's spokesman, he alleged, has distanced himself from the said memo.
“Our attention has been drawn to a message making the rounds on social media of a purported memo by the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, to the president on the fuel crisis. The message and its content is false,” Idang Alibi, Director of Press at the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, said in a statement last Sunday, while urging Nigerians to disregard the memo.
The source, who said the minister's retraction is weak and belated, maintained, “This was the same tactics they employed when he came up with the issue of non-existent $25 billion contracts. He and those he represents are desperate to bring Buhari’s government down for selfish ends. This is very sad and Nigerians must not allow people, who have vested interests to rubbish the good work the president has initiated in NNPC through Dr. (Maikanti) Baru," the source said.
He maintained that “with the current reforms going on in the NNPC, the federal government is beginning to reap the benefits of a productive policy. NNPC is making profits in some of its subsidiaries unlike in the past. We know that this is not going down well with people who are used to the old ways of doing business," adding, “The President had said that business in NNPC and its subsidiaries will no longer be as usual. Those who are no longer profiteering are desperate and want to frustrate these reforms by all means necessary. But I can assure you that Dr. Baru and his team will not be deterred or intimidated,” he concluded.
0 comments:
Post a Comment