Victor Ezeja
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed new members of the Board and Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
According to a statement released on Wednesday by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, the appointment was conducted in accordance with the power vested on the president under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
By the latest appointment, Senator Ifeanyi Ararume who was earlier appointed as chairman of the board has been dropped.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelArarume together with others had been approved as members of the Board of NNPC Limited in September 2021 but was later suspended by the president for undisclosed reasons.
Although it remains unclear why Ararume was dropped, political pundits say that his exclusion might not be unconnected with the politics in his home state of Imo.
READ ALSO: Buhari Suspends NNPC Board Inauguration Until Further Notice
Chairman of the new board is Senator Margret Chuba Okadigbo (South East), Mele Kolo Kyari, Chief Executive Officer, and Umar Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer.
Other Board Members are: Dr Tajudeen Umar (North East), Mrs Lami Ahmed (North Central), Mallam Mohammed Lawal (North West), Engr. Henry Obih (South East), Barrister Constance Harry Marshal (South South), and Chief Pius Akinyelure (South West).
The appointments take effect from the date of the incorporation of the NNPC Limited, the statement indicated.
Also appointed are Executive Commissioners of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. They are: Dr Nuhu Habib (Kano), Executive Commissioner, Development and Production, Dr Kelechi Onyekachi Ofoegbu (Imo), Executive Commissioner, Economic Regulations and Strategic Planning, Capt. Tonlagha Roland John (Delta), Executive Commissioner, Health, Safety, Environment and Community, and Jide Adeola (Kogi), Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services and Administration.
Earlier appointed are the Board Chairman, CEO, Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management, and Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts.
New appointees at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory AuthorityNigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority are Francis Alabo Ogaree (Rivers), Executive Director, Hydrocarbon Processing, Mustapha Lamorde (Adamawa), Executive Director, Health, Safety, Environment and Community, Mansur Kuliya (Kano), Executive Director, Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, Bashir Sadiq (Sokoto), Executive Director, Corporate Services and Administration, and Dr Zainab Gobir (Kwara), Executive Director, Economic Regulations and Strategic Planning.
They join the Board Chairman, Executive Director, Downstream Systems, Storage and Retailing Infrastructure, the CEO, and Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, who had earlier been appointed.
For Midstream and Downstream Infrastructure Fund, new Council Members are: Mr Effiong Abia (Akwa Ibom), Bobboi Ahmed (Adamawa), and Engr. Abdullahi Bukar (Katsina).
It will be recalled that President Buhari had last September written the Senate on the administrative structure amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act, which included appointment of Non-Executive Board Members, removal of the Ministries of Petroleum and Finance from the Board of the two new institutions, and appointment of Executive Directors.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with seven years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Master's degree in Mass Communication.
