Pius Akinyelure, an Idanre business aristocrat is not just your run of the mill oil mogul, politician and business man. He’s much more than that, he skirts power corridors at different levels, like a tiger quietly stalking its prey without noise and pomp.
Though a long distance runner, when it comes to the business affairs of the nation, wealth and power seem natural to him.
Recently, he has come into public consciousness again when President Bola Ahmed Tinubu appointed him Chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited. It was not just a political gesture to a mentor; he is probably the most renowned in the oil and gas sector in a career spanning over half a century. Today, he is the largest shareholder in ExxonMobil, which once employed him.
Competent sources say the reappointment of Mele Kyari as Group Managing Director of NNPCL has the imprimatur of the Idanre- born mogul.
Various sources aver that the President had earlier made up his mind not to reappoint Kyari but to replace him with another Northerner, but the prompt intervention of Akinyelure changed the dynamic.
High Chief Akinyelure was said to have prevailed on the President to give Kyari a second opportunity to prove himself, giving reasons why the man should be given a second term, especially the protection of Tinubu’s oil business interest.
There are insinuations that the Oando Group has taken over the NNPCL retail outlet , thanks to Kyari’s magnanimity even before Tinubu became president. This and other reasons, according to sources, Akinyelure used to convince the President to let Kyari continue.
Earlier, aware of the impending move against him, Kyari was said to have reached to some Northern leaders to prevail on Tinubu to retain him but this effort did not have much steam until he ran to Akinyelure, who was Tinubu’s boss at Mobil Producing Nigeria in the 80s.
Sources say Tinubu and Akinyelure had a very cordial relationship at Mobil and has since maintained the relationship. He is said to be one of the few personalities that have the President’s ears.
Akinyelure’s appointment came about five months after the President’s dissolution of the board of federal government agencies and parastatals including the NNPC Limited.
One of the strongest points anti Kyari forces mustered to prevail on Tinubu not to appoint him was the appointment of foreigners serving as directors of NNPCl retail outlet.
But unknown to them, the expatriates, who worked at Oando’s retail outlets were the ones given appointment by Kyari, which in reality means that Oando had through the backdoor taken over NNPCL retail.
Sources in the know said the development was one of the argument marshalled by Akinyelure to convince Tinubu of Kyari’s loyalty.
The appointment of foreign directors has since generated heated debates and has created divisions amongst the senior staff and high-ranking officials of NNPCL.
Kyari’s detractors said the $1.5billion borrowed for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery has remained unaccounted for, and there is no ongoing rehabilitation exercise at the moment. The scandal has continued to perplex industry experts and professionals, and they have sustained calls to President Tinubu to institute a fresh and robust investigation to uncover the magnitude of corruption perpetrated in the guise of rehabilitation under Kyari’s watch.
The Port Harcourt Refinery scandal is so deep, according to insiders, that it can only be discovered by an uncompromising investigation agency within or outside the country. The refinery was shut in March 2019 for the first phase of the so-called repair works after the government secured the service of an Italian company, Maire Tecnimont S.P.A, according to the former Minister of State, who are experts in refinery maintenance, to handle the scoping of the refinery complex, with oil major Eni appointed technical adviser.
The funding of the repairs was said to be from many components consisting of NNPCL, Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), budgetary provisions, and Afreximbank.
On November 22, 2019, the House of Representatives ordered an investigation into the financial allocations set aside for Turn-Around Maintenance (TAM) of the petroleum refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna, estimated to have cost $396.33 million in four years.
The inquiry was initiated following the motion titled “Call for investigation of the $396.33 million allegedly spent in four years on turnaround maintenance of the nation’s three refineries. ”
