The group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Mele Kyari, says he has received death threats from those benefiting from oil thefts in the country.
Kyari, however, said he is not bothered by their threats, noting that the company won’t relent until oil theft becomes a thing of the past in Nigeria and the country’s resources are judiciously utilised for the benefit of all.
The NNPC boss stated this on Wednesday at a Legislative Transparency & Accountability Summit in Abuja organised by the House of Representatives Anti-Corruption Committee.
He said, “Lastly, without mincing words, this industry is in a shortfall of a massive change, very expensive, personal cost to many people including myself. I have several death threats to myself but we are not bothered about this because we believe that no one will die until his time.
“This is the cost of change. When people walk away from things they are used to, to something new, something that will take away value and benefit from them, they will react and that reaction is beneficial to us.”
Kyari lamented that Nigeria daily loses about 700,000 barrels of crude to oil thieves.
He also said NNPC engaged private security companies in its resolve to end oil theft, noting that 295 illegal connections to its pipeline were recently discovered.
