10,000 Jobs Lost Because Of NNPC Boss, Sack Him Now, Niger Delta Youths Tells Buhari

Niger Delta youth group leaders has told President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Group Managing Director, GMD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, in order to avert looming crisis in the Niger Delta region.

The youth leaders warned that the relative peace being enjoyed in the zone will become a thing of the past if Baru continues in office, stating that criminal activities are gradually returning in the region as a result of the alleged insensitivity and inefficiency of the GMD.

Acting National President of the youth group, Pastor Olayinka Tiedor, and the acting National Secretary, Jude John Nicholas, disclosed in a statement, that about 10 thousand youths have lost their jobs since Baru became the GMD of the state oil corporation.

They alleged that Baru has no clear-cut programmes tailored to cater for the sufferings of oil bearing communities but is more interested in pushing for oil exploration at the highly volatile Lake Chad basin, where Boko Haram terrorists killed and abducted officials sent there for exploration exercise.

Stressing that the GMD has made nonsense of all the peace building process initiated by previous administrations in the coastal belt, the youth groups stated that it is these perceived neglect of host communities that is responsible for several agitations in the oil-rich Niger Delta.

The statement reads: “Niger Delta Youth Leaders have observed with dismay what apparently is the parlour state of affairs at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC which is currently marred by ineffective and lack of visionary leadership, thereby undermining the peace-building process in the Niger Delta region.

“From all indications, the present Group Managing Director GMD of the Corporation Maikanti Baru seems not to understand the sensitive nature of the issues at hand, especially the community relations component of their policies and programmes, a setback that impacts negatively on the peace-building initiative in the oil rich region.

“A clear example is the fact that petroleum products are not being supplied to the Riverine communities of the Niger Delta, even though these essential products are sourced from their backyards, which makes them even more vulnerable to the negative effects of oil exploration and exploitation activities in the Niger Delta.

“Although it is within the purview of the NNPC to give policy direction on how to carry the host communities along in line with its corporate social responsibility, the current leadership of NNPC under Baru appears short-sighted and averse to tackling these issues.

“During the reign of former President Obasanjo, he initiated the Mega fuel stations scheme to cater for the petroleum products demands of the riverine communities, a laudable initiative which to a large extent was successful amidst few setbacks. Two years after he resumed duties, the NNPC GMD has failed to address the shortfall in the supply of Petroleum products at the Riverine communities in the Niger Delta, hence leaving the people to source about 80% – 90% of products they consume through illegal sources.

“The current leadership of NNPC under Baru has rendered over 10 thousand youths who hitherto were gainfully employed in the pipeline Surveillance scheme Jobless.

“The pipelines Surveillance scheme was a collaborative exercise with the conventional security services, especially the Operation Delta Safe (JTF) and the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to ensure that pipelines criss-crossing the creeks, swamps, mangroves and the upland areas of the Niger Delta are not vandalized, sabotaged or compromised by criminally minded elements.

“Though there were issues of irregularities with the scheme, we expected the GMD to have reviewed and it to be more transparent, accountable and efficient in its implementation and execution."