Fifty members of the House of Representatives have kicked against the call for the removal of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPCL), Mele Kyar and the Chief Executive of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, describing it as premature.
TheHintsNews reports that the Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Hon. Philip Agbese had asked President Bola Tinubu to immediately dismiss Kyari for allegedly stifling the economy’s growth due to the oil sector crisis.
He also called on the President to sack Ahmed and other appointees.
The lawmakers led by Hon. Billy Osawaru while addressing a press conference on Thursday in Abuja said the call for the sacking of Kyari when an investigation was currently being carried out was premature and done in bad fate.
The lawmakers pointed out that it was against parliamentary culture to call for the sacking of an official of the government when an investigation involving such a person had not been concluded.
Osawaru stated: “Nigerians will recall hike in fuel prices and associated challenges are fundamental concerns. The House of Representatives vide its resolutions mandated the joint committee of the House on Midstream and Downstream Petroleum to investigate issues in the oil and gas sector.
“We are aware that the investigation is ongoing and the final decision has not been reached.
“However, our attention has been drawn to some media reports calling for the removal of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL and the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA while the above investigation is subsisting.
“We wish to state that it is in the parliamentary culture to afford parties in an investigation the right to fair hearing. Therefore, the call for removal of anyone while investigation is pending is premature.
“We Therefore call on all Nigerians to be patient and law abiding in expectation of a better Nigeria.”