President Buhari dissolves Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Board

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President Muhammadu Buhari has dissolved the Board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with immediate effect.

The announcement was made in a statement by the Director Communications, Office of Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Haruna Imrana, on behalf of the HoS, Mr. Danladi Kifasi.

“The directive to that effect was conveyed in a letter signed yesterday (Friday) June 26, 2015 by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi.

In it, the President thanked members of the dissolved board for their services to the nation,” he said.

The NNPC is the state-run oil company which oversees Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. It’s board is statutorily headed by the minister of petroleum resources.

The corporation regulates the oil and gas sector, and also operates as a joint venture partner representing the government in deals with oil multinationals.

The NNPC has in recent years been accused of large scale corruption, the latest being the alleged disappearance of $20 billion oil money.

An independent audit ordered by the Nigerian government in 2014 concluded that the corporation has an outstanding $1.48 billion to pay to the government.

The NNPC has yet to make the payment several months after the release of the audit report.

The audit was sequel to the complaint forwarded to former President Goodluck Jonathan by the former Central Bank Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi. His report was followed up by a letter signed by Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Suleiman Barau and addressed to the Senate Committee on Public Account with ref: NASS/S/CPAC/017 dated 19th November, 2013 called attention to unremitted oil money amounting to $49.8 billion by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Meet the Sacked Board Members of the NNPC

Dr. Joseph T. Dawha —Group Managing Director, hails from Borno State. He is an industry’s man who had served the corporation over the years in various capacities before becoming the GMD in March 2014. Dawha once served as Acting Group Executive Director of Exploration & Production at Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation until he was appointed GMD in March 2014. Dr. Dawha was also as the Managing Director of Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL) since 2005. He is capacities, in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry.

Mr. Bernard O.N. Otti —until the dissolution of the board was NNPC’s Group Executive Director, Finance & Account and Deputy Group Managing Director. Otti fought frantically to discredit the report of Nuhu Ribadu panel that indicted the NNPC board in 2012. He threw caution to the dogs and got physical with the former anti-corruption czar before the former President at the villa during the submission of the report, saying it was ‘contrived’. Otti, a trained and experienced economist with more than twenty-four years post-graduate rich and varied experience was an erstwhile banker. He served the defunct NAL Merchant Bank, in a career that spanned over fifteen years. He served key positions in NAL merchant bank such as Forex and Treasury activities, Asset Management, Financial/Strategic adviser to various state governments and restructuring of local and international debts of developmental projects and industries. He served as Director of Nigerian Starch Mills Limited. He holds an MBA and B.Sc. degrees from Utah state University. He has a Diploma of the American Institute of Banking.

Dr. Dan Efebo — Group Executive Director, Corporate Services was before his appointment into the board the Group General Manager, in charge of the NNPC’s Human Resources Division. He was previously General Manager, Human Resources, Brass LNG. He hails from Bayelsa state.

Alhaji Abdullahi Bukar — A celebrated professional Engineer, he was a staff of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria and retired after over 30 years of meritorious service. Within this period he rose to become Engineering Manager and Technical Director of SPDC.

Danladi Kifasi — The man who announced the dissolution of the board on behalf of President Buahri is the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, HOCSF and a member of the board. A former Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Kifasi also had stint as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources. Born on January 1, 1956, Kifasi serves as a non-Executive Director of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, and an Alternate Governor of Islamic Development Bank. An indigene of Taraba State, Mr. Kifasi, a chartered accountant and lawyer, was one of three Permanent Secretaries from the country’s North-East geo-political zone.

Stephen Osagiede Oronsaye — first appointed onto the Board of the CBN on July 31, 2008 for a four-year term, by virtue of his position then as Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance. His appointment was renewed in 2012 by President Jonathan. Oronsanye’s appointment raised eyebrows as it was believed to have violated the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2007 (as amended). Oronsaye, already serving as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of the CBN and at the same time serving in a similar position on the Board of the NNPC negates Section 10 sub-section (2) of CBN Act, that states that a Director of the CBN cannot take up a similar appointment in any government establishment, whether federal, state or local government.

Oransanye is not new to controversy. An accountant and civil servant who retired as Head of the Civil Service of the Federation in June 2009, he had been appointed Principal Private Secretary to President Olusegun Obasanjo in1999. He was confirmed as Permanent Secretary, State House, an unusual appointment since he was not a civil servant, until then. In 2006, Oronsaye headed the committee on the review of the Civil Service Rules and Financial Regulations. He was appointed Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of on 20 August 2008. Oronsanye retired on 16 November 2010 after reaching the statutory retirement age of 60.

Ikechukwu Oguine – Former President Jonathan appointed Mr. Ikechukwu Oguine as the Coordinator, Legal Services and Company Secretary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in April, 2014. Oguine, from Anambra State, who has over 29 years of legal experience, replaces Mr. Anthony Chukwuma Madichie, who has served as NNPC’s Legal Adviser and Secretary to the Corporation since February 2011.

He was previously the General Counsel of Chevron Nigeria Ltd and has been a partner in Advisory Legal Consultants, a law firm specializing in oil, gas, power and mining.

Also on the board were Mr. Danladi Wadzani and Prof. Olusegun Okunnu as members.