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Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Abuja, FCT
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There seems to be some disquiet in the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) ahead of the imminent shake-up by the Muhammadu
Buhari administration.
Legal Services and
Company Secretary Ikechukwu Oguine has resigned, The Nation learnt yesterday.
Deputy Group Managing
Director/ Group Executive Director (Finance and Account) Bernard Otti’s
fate remained unclear last night, following his sudden trip abroad immediately
after the inauguration of the President.
The Nation report continues:
A source said he was away
for medical reasons.
It was learnt that more
officers may retire or voluntarily withdraw their services from NNPC to beat
the imminent purge.
But an official said
there was no cause for panic in the corporation.
Fears of a massive purge
have gripped top managers of the NNPC, the Pipelines and Product Marketing
Company (PPMC) and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) over the
controversial crude oil swap.
A source, who spoke in
confidence, said: “Some top management staff of NNPC and its subsidiaries have
opted to leave the system ahead of the likely reorganisation of the corporation
by the President.
“Some of those affected
include a few in high-profile offices, who were engaged by the immediate past
Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, against the
provisions of the NNPC Act.”
The source, who pleaded
not to be named because of “the sensitivity” of the matter, did not name such
“backdoor” employees.
He went on: “There are some
professionals who also do not want their career rubbished by the looming
shake-up of the sector by Buhari.
“The NNPC company
secretary has resigned and he even paid three months salaries in lieu of
notice. He said he wants to go back to his consultancy firm if he does not find
the environment challenging.
“Actually, he gave
himself a year target to take stock of things in NNPC and having been appointed
on April 7, 2014, he decided to leave on personal grounds.”
Otti, according to some
NNPC sources, took a sick leave; others merely said he had not been seen in
office since Buhari was inaugurated as President.
Before the inauguration,
there had been arguments on the legality of Otti’s appointment.
Another source said:
“There had been unease in NNPC over Otti’s office. The appointment of a Deputy
Group Managing Director is unknown to NNPC statute; it is illegal and whatever
document or contract the man had signed as a holder of this office is untenable
in law.
“The management staff
have been having a sort of cold war because it is an aberration to combine the
post of Group Executive Director, Finance and Account and the office of Deputy
GMD.”
A source close to Otti
said: “He went for medical check-up; he should be back on Thursday. But
his job does not suffer because someone is acting for him.”
Some members of the
management staff, who are believed to have been brought into the system through
the backdoor, may leave before the proposed purge.
An official said: “More
staff may go to beat Buhari to the game. They have also realized that they
cannot fit into the system because they don’t have the technical capability.
“A few others who are
linked to the crude oil swap in PPMC and NPDC may leave. In fact, some of them
in NPDC have not been coming regularly to office.
“We operate in fear
because we do not know the type of reforms the President may initiate.”
Another NNPC source said
Oguine was on a year contract that elapsed last month.
“Oguine has a consulting
firm he ran in the United Kingdom before his appointment. On the expiration of
the contract, he chose to go back to UK to join his family and face his private
consultancy firm wholly. The board of NNPC even offered to renew his
appointment but he preferred to go back to his private business. There was no
problem,” the source added.
Otti, according to the
source, went to the United States to treat his eyes and will be back to office
this week. The source also noted that there was no panic in the corporation as
the board just sat yesterday and there was no information about officials who
intend to resign before new appointments are made by the new government. There
is also no information on any planned major shake-up in the corporation by the
Federal Government, the source added.
President Buhari has on
many occasions vowed to probe the NNPC.
During the campaigns, he
promised to probe the US$20 billion alleged to be missing from the coffers of
the oil giant by Emir of Kano Muhammed Sanusi, a claim he made when he was the
governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.
Former President Goodluck
Jonathan sacked him from the CBN for the claim which he considered untrue aand
embarrassing to his government.
Speaking in Yola as
President-elect, Buhari said: “I heard that some people have started refunding
money, but I will not believe until I see it.
“His royal highness, the
Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was removed from the Central bank because he
said that about US$20 billion was missing, instead of the government to
investigate the matter, they refused, instead they sacked him.
“He has already written a
detail report on it, the incoming government will not ignore it, even though we
have promised to draw a line, but US$20 billion is too big to ignore. This is
Nigerian money and it must be investigated,” Buhari said.
Last week during the
African Union Summit in South Africa, Buhari also gave another evidence of the
rot in the NNPC when he described as “improper” the holding of many accounts by
the NNPC.
Former British Prime Minister
Tony Blair also advised the president to overhaul the NNNPC if he must succeed.
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