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 – Erklärung 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.
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