Reps beg Nigerians to end protests

Fifty members of the House of Representatives on Thursday rallied support for the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd, Mele Kyari, and the Chief Executive of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed.

They also appealed for calm while imploring all Nigerians to bring the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protests to an end.

The lawmakers faulted the calls for the removal of Kyari and Farouk and described the move as premature.

The lawmakers, led by Billy Osawaru (Edo State) said the call for the sacking of Kyari when an investigation is currently being carried out was an action that is against parliamentary culture.

The deputy spokesperson for the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese had asked President Bola Tinubu to immediately dismiss Kyari for allegedly stifling the economy’s growth due to the oil sector crisis.

Agbese had also called on the President to sack Farouk and other inherited appointees.

But reacting to the call, Osawaru, during a press briefing on Thursday, said it was against parliamentary culture to call for the sack of an official of government when an investigation involving such a person had not been concluded.

He said it is in the parliamentary culture to afford parties in the investigation of the right for a fair hearing and called on the committee handling the probe to be impartial.

He said, “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 a 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 that right to a fair hearing. Therefore,  the call for removal of anyone while the investigation is pending is premature.

“We therefore call on all Nigerians to be patient and law-abiding in expectation of a better Nigeria.”

The lawmakers also expressed concern about the ongoing protests in the country, saying they converged to further appraise the situation as it affects the well-being of Nigerians.

They appealed for calm and begged all Nigerians to bring the protests to an end.

He added, “Today, the 1st of August, 2024, no less than 50 members of the House of Representatives who are deeply concerned about the ongoing protests have converged to further appraise the situation as it affects the well-being of Nigerians.

“First, we wish to commend the efforts of the National Assembly, particularly the House of Representatives, under the leadership of Right Honorable Tajudeen Abbas, PhD, for convening the youth dialogue to douse the tensions surrounding the scheduled protests.

“Having observed the nationwide protests, we commend the youths and Nigerians in general for the manner they have conducted themselves. We appeal for calm while imploring all Nigerians to bring the protests to an end.”