SAN FRANCISCO, October 17, (THEWILL) – The leaking of a confidential memo written by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu to President Muhammadu Buhari alleging irregularities at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has thrown up lots of brouhaha.
As bad as the insubordination and breach of due process claim levelled against the NNPC Group Managing Director, GMD, Dr. Maikanti Baru by Kachikwu is, the alleged scandalous contract awards rocking the corporation cannot be swept under the carpet.
According to Kachikwu, the GMD did not consult the Board he chairs in making some sweeping appointments and transfers in the corporation. This, he said, was contrary to the extant laws that such decisions be approved by the Board of the corporation.
As a supervising authority in the NNPC, Kachikwu stressed that the GMD’s action contravened the existing rules which prescribes that the “Board Services Committee of the corporation reviews potential appointments and terminations of senior staff prior to implementation”.
But what can be found most intriguing is Kachikwu’s allegation that the GMD awarded some contracts running into at least $25billion without seeking approval of the Board or other relevant authorities.
Among the contracts listed by Kachikwu are: the crude term contracts, valued at over $10bn, the DSDP contracts of over $5bn, and the AKK pipeline contract, valued at approximately $3billion.
Others were various financing allocation funding contracts with the NOCs, estimated at over $3bn and different NPDC production service contracts, put at over $3bn-$4bn.
However, the GMD in a press release to clarify the allegation stated that the relevant authorities, including the Federal Executive Council, FEC, duly approved the contracts. Curiously, some of these transactions took place at a time when Buhari was away in the United Kingdom on medical vacation, and transferred powers to his deputy, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo.
The matter has since assumed worrisome dimensions, including the statement by Osinbajo that what he approved for the NNPC were not procurement contracts, but loans.
Baru, in his explanation, had pointed out that the laws and rules governing the NNPC do not require a review or discussion with the minister of state or Board, adding that there are no specific values attached to crude term contracts and direct purchases.
Specifically, he said: “What is required is the processing and approval of contracts by the NNPC Tenders Board, the President in his executive capacity or as Minister of Petroleum, or the Federal Executive Council (FEC), as the case may be.”
“There are situations where all that is required is the approval of the NNPC Tenders Board while, in other cases, based on the threshold, the award must be submitted for presidential approval. Likewise, in some instances it is FEC approval that is required.”
It is weird that several attempts made by Kachikwu to see the President before and during the unfolding drama were unsuccessful, while Baru, who is at the centre of the storm, had unhindered access to the President.
THEWILL is deeply concerned that President Buhari has remained silent in the face of these monumental scandals rocking the engine room of the country’s economy, particularly when the whistleblower is his junior minister, who has been leading the administration’s international efforts to revamp stagnated crude oil price.
Baru had explained that the minister of state is only empowered by law to approve the NNPC’s work programmes, corporate plans and budgets. But he never explained why he failed to respond to the several meetings Kachikwu claimed to have called.
THEWILL demands an immediate response from Buhari, especially as the issue at stake borders on corruption, which his government claims to be fighting. More importantly, it is curious that he has not spoken at a time when his government is prosecuting many ex-officials of the NNPC, who were alleged to have stolen from the organization.
If indeed, Buhari is sincere about running a transparent government, THEWILL urges him to as a matter of urgency conduct an independent investigation into the allegations against Baru and if indeed there are issues within the system take decisive action(s) that will restore sanity and order in the corporation.
We must warn the president that Nigerians and the international community are becoming frustrated by the infighting amongst officials in his administration and his seeming lack of will to halt the chaos.
May we also alert the president in case he has forgotten that his inaction on the investigative report on the suspended SGF, his very close associate and the Director General of the NIA has done unquantifiable damages to his reputation as a serious anti-graft crusader.
Given the critical position of the NNPC in an oil-dependent economy as Nigeria, THEWILL also calls on all well-meaning Nigerians to compel Buhari to give up the portfolio of Minister of Petroleum Resources so that there is better clarity on roles and processes in this key ministry.
Indeed, Nigerians and the international community are not only watching but are also counting…
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