![Mele Kyari, former chief executive officer of NNPC Co. Ltd. [Getty Images]](https://image.api.sportal365.com/process/smp-images-production/pulse.ng/26092024/910d01b3-14af-42c4-910e-e0da25d39f41?operations=autocrop(1042:580))
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A coalition of civil society organisations has risen in defence of Mele Kyari, the former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), describing recent calls for his trial as a “sponsored campaign of calumny.”
The Empowerment for Unemployed Youth Initiative (EUYI) and the Coalition of Civil Society Groups on Transparency in Governance jointly addressed a press conference in Abuja, condemning what they termed “mischief” by a group known as Concerned Citizens Against Corruption.
Speaking on behalf of the coalition, Comrade Igwe Ude-umanta, National Coordinator of EUYI, said: “It is very sad and constraining when credible organisations like ours have to take the pain of responding to gibberish... These are clearly sponsored individuals with very nauseating and illogical messages.”
Kyari, who recently exited the NNPCL following the board’s reconstitution, has faced public criticism, particularly over his role during Nigeria’s controversial fuel subsidy regime.
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READ ALSO: Over 500 lawyers demand probe of Kyari over alleged corruption in NNPCL
However, the coalition maintained that his record was exemplary.
“Under Kyari, the former NNPC was unbundled and transformed into a profit-making entity for the first time,” Ude-umanta said, highlighting the revival of public refineries and an increase in oil production from under 1 million to 2 million barrels per day.
![Mele Kyari [Getty Images]](https://image.api.sportal365.com/process/smp-images-production/pulse.ng/27072024/21375a43-19de-49d3-bfa6-43e1e9a141ff?operations=fit(1042:))
He added that major stakeholders, including the Trade Union Congress (TUC), PENGASSAN, and NUPENG, had acknowledged Kyari’s achievements.
“Even President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hailed his sterling performance,” he noted.
READ ALSO: Lawyers, CSOs storm EFCC HQ with petition against ex-NNPCL boss Mele Kyari
Dismissing the demand for Kyari’s trial as baseless, the coalition challenged the accusers to a public debate.
“Hard facts are at our disposal, and facts don’t lie,” Ude-umanta declared.
They also clarified that Kyari’s departure was due to retirement, not dismissal.
“Falsehood and blackmail must not be allowed to go unchallenged,” the statement concluded.