On July 7, 2019 when Mallam Mele Kyari assumed the position of Group Managing Director of the now-defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the corporation was in a near comatose state. It was laced with many challenges ranging from grievous oil pipeline vandalism, corruption, incessant oil thefts, low production levels and lack of transparency and huge operational losses.
For instance, a 2010 joint report by Transparency International and Revenue Watch Institute found that the NNPC which it was then had the poorest transparency record out of 44 national and international energy companies examined.
