Buhari drops Ararume as NNPC board chairman, replaces him with Okadigbo

Barely four months after initially naming him as the chairman of the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, President Muhammadu Buhari has dropped Senator Ifeanyi Ararume.

The president has now replaced the Imo State politician with Senator Margret Chuba Okadigbo, wife of the late former senate president, Dr Chuba Okadigbo, to represent the South-East.

The president had in September 2021 announced the composition of the Board and Management of the company with Ararume as chairman but failed to inaugurate the appointees.

A statement issued by Femi Adesina, Special Adviser to the President (Media and Publicity), on Wednesday, reiterated that President Buhari made the appointment in accordance with the power vested in him under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.

The Group General Manager (GMD) of the company, Mele Kolo Kyari, was named the Chief Executive Officer, and Umar I. Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer.

Other board members are; Dr Tajudeen Umar (North East), Mrs Lami O. 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 statement said the appointments take effect from the date of the incorporation of the NNPC Limited.

According to the statement, 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 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).

The statement recalled that President Buhari had last September written the Senate on the administrative structure amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act, which included the 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.

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Buhari drops Ararume as NNPC board chairman, replaces him with Okadigbo