Stakeholders in the Nigerian oil and gas industry have raised concerned about the seemly insensitivity of government in respect of the recent appointments it made into the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in view of the latest development in the Niger Delta.
The stakeholders said the appointment had further demonstrated that the government was not in tune with the reality in the Niger Delta.
The appointments they said had not demonstrated equity and inclusiveness, as it was lopsided and tilted towards a particular section of the country.
According to a top official of one of the associations in the industry, even though the board is mere rubber stamp, as it only approves contracts, it should have at least reflect the national spread in view of the problems happening in the Niger Delta, and demonstrate their concerns for the people of Niger Delta.
He said getting a new group managing director for the NNPC was the right thing to do, as making one person to hold the position in addition to being a minister, which does not give room for checks and balances.
However, in his own comment, Chambers Oyibo, former group managing director of NNPC, said NNPC had always had group managing director that was supervised by a minister of petroleum, who is the chairman of the board, saying that this had always been the arrangement.
“NNPC prepares it programme and the board approves it, but when the same man reports to himself it is not good for proper operations of the corporation,” Oyibo.
He said the minister had brought new skills to NNPC in the last eight months he had stayed, and brought the NNPC closer to the people through the monthly report, saying, “He has tried his best.”
Also commenting, Francis Olabode Johnson, president, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), said the development had been long awaited, saying that his union had been agitating that NNPC should have board in the last eight months. The board, he said, has approval limit for any contract that it will approved.
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday appointed Maikanti Baru as the new group managing director of the NNPC, following the appointment and composition of the board of the corporation.
Minister of state for petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, chairs the new board with Baru and the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Finance as members. Other members include Abba Kyari, Thomas John, Pius Akinyelure, Tajuddeen Umar, Mohammed Lawal, and Yusuf Lawal.
