Youths from the Niger Delta on Wednesday besieged the headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) in Abuja, demanding the immediate resignation of the Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, over allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
They further demanded that the leadership of the company be handed to a qualified indigene of the Niger Delta, insisting that the region deserved to occupy the position of Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL.
Arriving as early as 6 a.m., the protesters took strategic positions around the Towers and blocked both the main entrance and exit gates, effectively shutting down access to the company’s headquarters.
The Nation reported that “they carried banners with different inscriptions and continuously chanted solidarity songs amid music supplied by a local orchestra and modern music blaring from loud speakers positioned in an opened truck stationed near towers.”
“Traffic Chaos”
As reported, the demonstration caused heavy gridlock along the usually busy Herbert Macaulay Way in the Central Business District, leaving motorists stranded and disrupting normal traffic flow.
A large detachment of security personnel, including officers of the Nigeria Police Force, was deployed to the scene where they urged the demonstrators to remain orderly and conduct their protest without violence.
However, the security operatives also ensured that traffic was diverted to one lane of the dual carriage way leading to the NNPCL towers.
Workers were forced to park their cars far away from the gates of the Towers due to the protest.
“The protesters later cleared off the highway and massed at the exit gate of the Towers following an appeal by a representative of the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil)), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri.”
This intervention allowed traffic to resume on both lanes of the dual carriageway, and despite the disruption, the protest was reported to have remained largely peaceful.
