Leading radical group in the oil-rich Niger Delta region, the Niger Delta Indigenous Movement for Radical Change (NDIMRC), has warned that any attempt to remove, suspend of frustrate the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, will be met with stiff opposition capable of plunging the nation into non-oil production regime.
It would be recalled that in the last couple of months, there had been relative peace in the region which actually assisted the economy to exit recession in second quarter at a time global oil prices started rising to stability.
In a statement, NDIMRC called for probe of the alleged scandal in Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and suspension of its Group Managing Director (GMD), Dr. Maikanti Baru to give way for proper investigation into the activities of the corporation for year.
The terse statement signed by its President, Nelly Emma; Secretary, John Sailor and Public Relations Officer (PRO), Stanley Mukoro, the group said that the minister deserved to be treated fairly and accorded due respect.
According to NDIMRC, “We have been watching the activities of the GMD of the NNPC, Dr. Baru, since he came on board and we are not impressed with the way he is treating the Minister of State for Petroleum and people from the Niger Delta region working in the NNPC”.
“We have seen that the GMD of NNPC is bent on destroying the solid foundation laid by the Minister of State for Petroleum and determined to frustrate the minister, but we are not going to take this likely because the oil Dr. Baru is presiding over belongs to the people of the Niger Delta region and not the North.
The group added that “The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, must be allowed to take charge as the board chairman of NNPC which he currently is”.
