Nigerian politicians have been warned to desist from heating up the system through frivolous and unsubstantiated allegations and criticisms aimed at distracting President Bola Tinubu from his focus on reforming Nigeria for the good of the citizens.

At a joint press conference held at Barcelona Hotel Abuja on Saturday themed “Separating Politics from Governance” the two groups, First Green White Resources (FGWR) and Strategic Communication Centre for Defence and Security (SCCDS), also raised concern over media attacks on the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, who is barely three months in office, describing those sponsoring the attacks as economic terrorists.

Bonaventure Phillips Melah, Founder of FGWR, said well-meaning Nigerians are aware that President Tinubu’s reforms are yielding positive reforms and require the support of patriotic citizens to see the positive outcomes of the agenda go full bloom, adding regrettably that politicians, especially those who have fallen out of favour with the establishment are making statements that are targeted at casting the government in bad light. He warned that casting unnecessary aspersions on NNPCL when there was no reason to do so, was deliberate moves to de-market the nation’s oil industry and therefore meant to destroy the economy.

He said even though rebuilding the economy of Nigeria is a work in process, much has been achieved and mentioned reduction in the price of some essential commodities like rice and petrol as well as establishment of Nigerian Students’ Loan Scheme and others as practical testimonies that the government was moving in the right direction.

He said- “Let me quickly talk about just a few of the numerous areas the reforms are performing well:

1. In this country, we bought one bag of rice at N110,000 about two years ago. Today, one bag of the same 50kg is selling at between N63,000 and N67,000.

2. Following the removal of oil subsidy by President Bola Tinubu, GCFR on the first day of his inauguration, prices of petroleum products rose astronomically up to N1,500 per litre of premium motor spirit which we also call petrol. But as the president promised, through reforms in the petroleum industry and the support by government to indigenous players, there is now a healthy competition among investors to the extent that currently, prices of petrol are hovering around N900 and N840 per litre, depending on where you bought from.

3. The removal of subsidy has helped the government to save money which is being invested in massive legacy projects like the rapid transformation of FCT, the 770-kilometer Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway running from Lagos and across 13 states to Cross River State. That project may end up as Nigeria’s most ambitious infrastructure investment in history when completed. States are currently receiving more than three times their previous statutory allocations while there is enough money to pay workers, university teachers as well as pay other bills.

4. The Nigerian Students Loan Scheme established by the present administration commenced operations just may last year and has so far disbursed ₦73.2billion to 396,252 students from 206 tertiary institutions across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); just to mention a few.”

He said rather than applaud the government for the milestones recorded, detractors and others motivated by political inclinations are making frantic efforts, including inserting toxic media contents to pour tar on the achievements, aimed at diminishing the gains being recorded. “This is not only unpatriotic, but meant to mislead the public, especially citizens of the country, that nothing is working, when they know it is deliberate falsehood.”

Melah said the two groups decided to organize the press conference, majorly, to address the ongoing media war against the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), especially personal attacks on its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari.

“I want to quickly remind us that someone was NNPCL CEO for many years until recently and the roof was not brought down as it has been plotted today. The current CEO assumed office less than four months ago, in fact, he clocked 100 days in office on Tuesday this week. Even though he has neither awarded contracts nor leased oil blocks, the barrage of attacks on him and how the attacks are being celebrated in the media should be a matter of concern to well-meaning citizens.

“President Tinubu, while announcing Bayo Olujiri’s appointment, made it clear that he is to carry out a comprehensive overhaul of the company, inject reform policies necessary for NNPCL to operate with global best practices and therefore profitable to the country and our people. It is not surprising or rather expected that some interests would try to resist the change, no matter how necessary. The unthinkable however is when the resistance comes within the system which can be seen as a coup d’etat.

“We have heard that the lead master-minder of the attacks, is a top management staff who recently tendered his resignation through a WhatsApp message but is now running from pillar to pole, in desperate efforts to return to the system, which makes it look like infighting. We have also been reliably informed that the attackers’ audacity is being prodded and nudged-on, by vested interests in Nigeria’s oil money, especially politically exposed persons, some of whom are being investigated for some financial infractions committed in the recent past.

“The issue at stake here is not only the unwarranted attacks through meaningless and unsubstantiated allegations against the new CEO of NNPCL, what is at stake mostly, is that these attacks have the potency to de-market Nigeria’s oil industry and scare investors away. Being the major cash cow of the nation, if the oil industry is being attacked needlessly as is the case currently through reckless allegations, it should be seen and taken as economic terrorism.

“We have all come to the consensus that opposition is a necessary force to strengthen democratic governance. But that is when opposition is done with the intent to bring out the best out of those in government for the good of a greater majority. A situation where the government sets up a students’ loan scheme to help expand academic space and empower children of less privileged members of the society as a jamboree is not patriotic opposition. It is also a pitiable vomit to say that rewarding victorious Falcons with cash, houses and national honour is eye-service on the part of the government. When adults embark on these lines of thinking, they are no longer opposition but should not be taken seriously by serious minded people.

He therefore called on the federal government to take decisive action against those attempting to destroy the nation’s economy through a reckless campaign of calumny against the NNPCL and its management.

“As a way of summary therefore, we hereby call on politicians to separate politics from governance. There is a time for politics and a time for nation-building. The idea of attacking strategic institutions of government as a way of getting to the President because of 2027 is a great de-service to the nation and a direct attack on the wellbeing of our people,” he stated.

On his part, Yashim Luka, Director of Publicity, Strategic Communications Centre for Defence and Security, called on politicians to stop overheating the system and allow the government to function while also praising President Tinubu for the achievements recorded so far.

He said it was too early in the day for politicians to overshadow the focus of Nigerians to the 2027 election rather than suggesting ways to better the economy through constructive criticisms.

“We all are witnesses to the fact that politicians have hijacked the nation’s airwaves, including television and radio stations, newspapers, online and social media platforms. And most times, they are passing messages of doom, rather than uplift the peoples’ morale through messages of hope.

“It is unfortunate, to put mildly, for someone who has served the nation as governor, senator, minister, whatever, to come to the public and say that Nigeria would collapse soon; or that there is no hope for the people, just to undermine the system and heat up the system unnecessarily in order to advance personal interest and in the process, gain political milage at the detriment of Nigerian people.

“For us, the convergence for 2027 is rather too early and therefore becoming a source of serious distraction.”

“We also support the idea that the new management of NNPCL is just 100 days in office and should be allowed to work. The federal government should therefore take decisive action to stop the shenanigans against such a strategic institution like NNPCL as any threat on the nation’s oil industry is a threat against national security, since the sector is currently the mainstay of our economy,” he concluded.