The National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), the premier youth welfare, capacity building advocacy organization, has condemned what they described as “coordinated smear campaigns” against the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and its leadership.
Speaking during a joint press conference by members of the NYCN and civil society actors, Vice President (North Central) of the NYCN, Comrade Akoshile Mukhtar argued that the current regulatory stability in the downstream sector is one of the few successful transitions Nigeria has witnessed since subsidy removal.
“These protests are not about the public good. They are politically induced. You don’t pull down a man who is fixing the system simply because some vested interests feel threatened,” Akoshile stated.
He called for evidence-based civic engagement and urged young people to avoid being used as tools to advance personal vendettas or economic sabotage.
“Engr. Farouk Ahmed is not perfect, but he has proven capable. If there are issues, let the institutions do their job. Not street protests based on gossip,” Akoshile said.