A NEW helmsman
took the reins yesterday at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
President
Muhammadu Buhari appointed Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, the Executive Vice
Chairman/General Counsel of ExxonMobil (Africa), as Group Managing Director
(GMD), asking him to give recovery of stolen oil money a priority, among other
targets.
Buhari may also
appoint Kachikwu, who beat three other candidates in the race for the job, as
the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources to ensure synergy, a source said
last night.
Those also
considered and discreetly screened for the job, source told The Nation learnt,
are former Petroleum Products Prices Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) Executive
Secretary Stanley Reginald; Shell Petroleum Development Company Managing
Director Mr. Osagie Okunbor and a NNPC Deputy General Manager, whose name was
not disclosed.
At the final
negotiation with Kachikwu, the President gave him six terms of reference to
reshape the corporation. They are to:
• clean up the
NNPC system of corrupt elements;
• recover all
stolen crude oil funds;
• work with the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Directorate of State
Service (DSS) to trace and recover stolen oil cash;
• review the
structure of the NNPC to compete globally;
• giving targets
to all subsidiaries and put in place performance benchmarks; and
• fixe all
refineries, which must work at optimal level, “even if it means using
expatriates in the interim”.
A source said:
“The new GMD of NNPC was picked after a thorough search by the President.
Actually, at the end of the search, the choice was narrowed down to four
candidates.
“The President
opted for Kachikwu who is the Vice President of Exxon Mobil, not only in
Nigeria but in Africa. Buhari was impressed by his impeccable credentials as
the most senior black African in any multi-national oil firm in the world with
30 years experience.
“Apart from being
a First Class graduate, Kachikwu also obtained PhD in Law which enabled him to
rise to company secretary in Exxon Mobil.”
But it was not
easy for the President to convince Kachikwu to accept the job because he was
afraid that he might be messed up like other Nigerians, a source said.
“In their
negotiation, President Buhari repeatedly said: ‘I won’t interfere with your
work; I will give you a free hand because I want to reform this oil sector once
and for all.’ The GMD accepted the job following what he realized as “the
infectious patriotism and genuine intention of the President,: the source said.
Kachikwu
yesterday took the reins at a brief ceremony held at the NNPC Towers, Abuja .
The Group General
Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, in a statement, said
the new helmsman expressed gratitude to his predecessor, Dr. Joseph T. Dawha,
for holding the Corporation. He pledged to work assiduously in achieving the
President’s growth aspiration for the oil and gas industry.
“ExxonMobil
Upstream affiliates in Nigeria congratulate our Vice-Chairman and General
Counsel, Dr. Emmanuel Kachikwu, on this opportunity to serve Nigeria as Group
Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). We
thank Dr. Kachikwu for his many contributions to ExxonMobil Nigeria, and wish
him well in his new role.”
Inside the NNPC
The NNPC is the
national oil company, through which the Federal Government regulates and
participates in the country’s petroleum industry.
An Act to
dissolve the former Nigerian National Oil Corporation and to establish the NNPC
was created in 1977. The NNPC was established on April 1, 1977, as a merger of
the Nigerian National Oil Corporation and the Federal Ministry of Mines and
Steel.
By law, the NNPC
manages the joint venture between the Federal Government and some foreign
multinational corporations including Shell, Agip, ExxonMobil, Chevron, and
Total. Through collaboration with these companies, the Federal Government
conducts petroleum exploration and production.
For lack of
supervision, the NNPC degenerated to a rent-collector for the government with
less attention to transparency and accountability.
Between 2007 and
2009, auditors found that the corporation over-deducted funds in subsidy claims
to the tune of N28.5 billion and has not been able to account for the money.
In 2008, Willbros
Group Inc of United States (U.S.) admitted making ‘suspicious’ payments of over
$6.3 million to officials of the corporation and its subsidiary – the National
Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) for assistance in obtaining
and retaining contracts at the Eastern Gas Gathering System (EGGS).
In 2004, ABB
Vetco Gray, a U.S. company and its UK subsidiary – ABB Vetco Gray UK Limited –
admitted paying over $1 million in bribes to NAPIMS’ officials, in exchange for
obtaining confidential bid information and favourable recommendations from
government agencies.
After the
publication of a report In November 2013 by Swiss, a non-governmental advocacy
organisation – ErklΓ€rung von Bern – allegations of fraud surfaced, placing the
NNPC under suspicion of siphoning $6.8 billion of crude oil revenues.
From 2013, the
NNPC has been battling with the allegation of non-remittance of $20 billion
into the Federation Account.
These
allegations, among others are responsible for the continued calls for the
sanitisation and repositioning of the corporation.
