‘Kyari’s planned replacement’ : El-Rufai reacts to alleged ‘Yorubacentric take-over’ of NNPC

Former Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai, has responded to allegations that President Bola Tinubu is favouring Yoruba individuals in appointments to key positions within the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).

The allegations were raised in an opinion piece by Farooq Kperogi, a United States-based professor of journalism at Kennesaw State University, titled Tinubu’s Buharization of the NNPC.

The article, published in the Nigerian Tribune column Notes from Atlanta, claimed that a Yoruba candidate is being considered to replace the current Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, whose tenure ends early next year.

Kperogi alleged that President Tinubu’s approach mirrors former President Muhammadu Buhari’s pattern of appointing northerners to dominate the security sector.

READ ALSO :Farooq Kperogi : Kemi Badenoch’s Yoruba identity meets inconvenient truths

But in his reaction, El-Rufai emphasized the importance of inclusivity in governance, cautioning against perpetuating divisive precedents.

Sharing the article on his verified Facebook page on Saturday, El-Rufai wrote: “DECEMBER MESSAGE: Two wrongs do not make a right. Sensible inclusion always trumps arrogant exclusion!!”

PlatinumPost reports that in part of the article, Kperogi wrote, “Frankly, I hadn’t been paying attention to the internal dynamics at the NNPC, but the acquaintance pointed out that Yoruba people now occupy major positions at the NNPC and that a certain (name withheld) is ‘being proposed as GMD after Mele Kyari’s term expires’ early next year.

“I haven’t independently confirmed the accuracy of this claim, but given the closeness of the source of information to people in the circles of power, it’s probably best not to dismiss this with the wave of the hand.”

He also noted that Tinubu, who hails from the Southwest, holds the petroleum ministerial portfolio, while the Chairman of NNPC’s Non-Executive Board, Chief Pius Akinyelure, is also Yoruba. Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, the Minister of State for Petroleum, represents the South-South region.

Further, Kperogi’s source highlighted that Seyi Omotowa had replaced Bala Wunti as the head of NNPC’s Upstream Investment Management Services (NUIMS). Similarly, Gbenga Komolafe, another Yoruba individual, serves as the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

“If a Yoruba man were to be the GMD, another Yoruba man is the Chairman, and yet another Yoruba man is the regulator, that’s extreme lopsidedness,” Kperogi quoted his acquaintance as saying.

However, Kperogi acknowledged that a deeper analysis might reveal a more balanced reality, pointing out that four of the 12 members of the NNPC’s non-executive board are northerners, including Kyari. The senior management team also includes three northerners.

“By these metrics, one might argue that there’s a semblance of balance,” Kperogi concluded.

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