Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has refused to disclose the outcome of his Friday meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa Abuja.
Recall that the minister arrived the Presidential Villa around 11.40am for the meeting.
He left at about 12.50pm.
He simply said “no comment” when reporters approached him.
The meeting comes three days after a letter Dr Kachikwu wrote to the President accusing the NNPC Group Managing Director of insubordination was leaked and went viral online.
In the letter, dated August 30, Dr. Kachikwu complained to the President the NNPC boss Maikanti Baru had sidelined the NNPC board which the minister chairs among other allegations.
The minister is unhappy with the manner recent changes in the NNPC were handled and accused Dr. Baru of humiliating him and the board.
Dated a day after the NNPC announced a massive shakeup which affected 55 management staff, the Minister said it wasn’t the first time changes would be made without the Board’s input.
“It is in the spirit of service and absolute belief in your leadership and integrity that I have, after one year of tolerating these disrespectful and humiliating conducts by the GMD, decided to bring these to your attention,” the Minister wrote.
He called on the President to intervene and “save the office of the Minister of State from further humiliation and disrespect by compelling all parastatals to submit to oversight regulatory mandate and proper supervision” which he is supposed to manage on the President’s behalf.
He also called on President Buhari to “save the NNPC and the oil industry from collapse arising from the above non-transparent practices and empower the Board” to do the needful.
This is how it started during the time of Mmadueke. Gej took it with laxity until the thing went our of hand. And by the way, I think PMB is fighting corruption? This is a litmus test.
ReplyDeleteMore damning insights have emerged on Friday as to how some legal clauses frustrated the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Kachikwu from having “supervisory powers” over the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru.
ReplyDeleteMr Kachikwu had in a leaked 8-page letter addressed to President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday accused Mr Baru of “acts of insubordination, humiliation, disrespect and lack of due process in the award of contracts.”
On Tuesday, DAILY NIGERIAN exclusively revealed why the minister reported the GMD to the President.
But in what could be seen as a new twist to the raging rift between the two oil czars, a senior NNPC official who preferred not to be named exclusively told DAILY NIGERIAN that the fight was beyond what was contained in the letter.
“The fight between Kachikwu and Baru emanated from two clauses within the NNPC. And these are the NNPC Act and the Clause in a correspondence from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to the then GMD of NNPC (Ibe Kachikwu) regarding contracts.
“In the NNPC Act,” the source added, “it was stated clearly that the GMD NNPC will report directly to the Substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources, in this case President Muhammadu Buhari. Sadly for Kachikwu, the Act was silent on the GMD reporting to him.
“Secondly, in a letter dated June 26, 2015, the BPP clarified a clause regarding the power of the NNPC Tenders Board (and not the NNPC Board) to award contracts without recourse to the Minister of State.
“The approval limit of the NNPC Tenders Board is $20m. But where such contracts exceed the tenders board’s limits, approval must be sought from the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
“And in the case of the $26billion Kachikwu claimed Baru spent without due process, it was the same Federal Executive Council, with Kachikwu as a member, that approved the contracts. How would Baru, who is not even a member of FEC, be blamed for side-stepping the minister and bypassing due process?” the insider queried.
BPP’s clarification to Mr Kachikwu on powers of NNPC Tenders Board to award contracts
Also, a correspondence seen by DAILY NIGERIAN from the BPP to the NNPC during Kachikwu’s reign as GMD/Minister of State for Petroleum, read in part: “The [NNPC] Governing Board is responsible for approval of the work programmes, corporate contract plans and budget while the [NNPC] Tenders Board is responsible for approval of day to day procurement implementation.”
According to the source, Mr Baru knew all these provisions very well and was using both in his dealings with Mr Kachikwu.
“Strangely, the same Minister who obtained such clarifications from the BPP while serving as GMD NNPC has now turned against it,” the source added.
That's why you think he shouldn't subject himself to his superior, or you think kachukwu is their as a figure head?? why do APC like causing confusion for itself??
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