Rather than having a Petroleum Minister, sources told New Telegraph that the former military head of state who once supervised the Ministry of Petroleum Resources as well as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in the 1970s, will appoint a special adviser on power and energy, who will report to him.
It could not be immediately confirmed if the incoming president was also considering same option for the beleaguered power sector. If he sees through his plan, Buhari will be following in the footstep of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, who directly supervised the Ministry of Petroleum Resources for about seven years.
He relinquished the position in January 2007 when, in a cabinet reshuffle, he elevated the then Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, to head the newly-created Ministry of Energy, formed from the merger of Ministry of Petroleum Resources as well as Ministry of Power and Steel. One of the sources said Buhari was considering the idea of not appointing a minister for the Ministry of Petroleum as part of efforts to clean the rot in the ministry.
The source said: ”This is part of the immediate plans General Buhari has mapped out to tackle the rot in the oil sector and it is likely to remain as long as the industry remains mysterious and shrouded in secrecy.”
The source said the incoming president met with experts in the petroleum industry shortly after his victory at the poll with a view to forming a holistic approach to tackle the industry, especially in the face of dwindling oil prices in the international market.
“There are obviously going to be very drastic changes, especially in the oil sector where its dealings and operations, particularly earnings, have been shrouded in secrecy for many years. “From what is on the ground, the latest thinking is that the Presidentelect is most likely going to personally supervise the Petroleum Ministry; that means that there might not be a substantive petroleum minister, but a presidential adviser on energy and power who will report to directly to the president.
“You know this was the case at a point in the life of the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo until towards the end of that government; and I think that will go a long way in sanitizing that sector, especially with the man (Buhari) in charge and not the minister,” the source added.
Another source, a member of the President- elect’s various team towards the May 29 takeover of government, said it could not be ruled out. “That cannot be ruled out.
You know the President- elect is passionate about the oil sector because of the way it is being run. I know he said severally that he would not take chances in the petroleum sector. “I remember a time he said he would not play games with the oil sector and that he should be held responsible if the sector remains the same way it is six months after May 29.
I would not know whether his plans are in the direction of what you are asking,” he said. Regardless, New Telegraph gathered that immediately after his victory, Buhari held a series of meetings with experts in the industry with a view to having further insight into the sector.
The President-elect was said to have first met with Obasanjo, then former Minister of Petroleum, Professor Tam David-West as well as Daukoru, now the traditional ruler of Nembe Kingdom. Daukoru is the political godfather of former Governor of the Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, who is co-chairman of the Inauguration Committee on the side of Buhari.
According to findings, the aggregate of the views expressed by those he consulted might have informed Buhari’s decision not to appoint a substantive minister for the petroleum sector. “I think in the course of his consultations, there was a consensus that the powers given to the minister under the Petroleum Act were too enormous and could be abused if not checked.
You know, apart from the president of Nigeria, the powers vested in the Minister of Petroleum are so much that a minister with bad intentions, can cripple the economy of this country,” one of the sources stated.
The Petroleum Act vests the minister with the powers to co-ordinate the activities of the petroleum industry and exercise general supervision over all operations and all institutions in the industry.
The minister, among others, is also responsible for the formulation, determination and monitoring of government policy for the petroleum industry in Nigeria; negotiate and execute international petroleum treaties and agreements with other sovereign countries, international organisations and other similar bodies on behalf of the government and upon the advice of the inspectorate, grant, amend, renew, extend or revoke upstream petroleum licences and leases pursuant to the provisions of the Act.
-New Telegraph