- President seeks removal of Ministers of Petroleum Resources and Finance from board of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) Limited
President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday wrote to the Nigerian Senate, seeking an amendment to the recently enacted Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
According to one of the letters read on the floor by Senate President Ahmad Lawan, President Buhari, in proposing the amendment to the PIA, is seeking to remove the Ministers of Petroleum Resources and Finance from the board of the newly created Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC) Limited.
The President insisted that the affected Ministers can continue to perform their functions without necessarily being members of the board of NNPC Limited.
Part of the amendment being sought by Buhari on PIA is to increase the number of Non-Executive members of the NNPC Limited Board from two to six to reflect Federal Character.
Buhari also transmitted the names of nominees for screening and subsequent confirmation as board members of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the NNPCL.
The Senate also received a formal request from the President to confirm the nominations of Members of the Board of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The President in another letter to the upper chamber also sought the confirmation of the Board of the Upstream Regulatory Commission.
He explained in a letter dated September 16, 2021, and read during plenary by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, that the request to confirm the Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Directors for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority was made in accordance with the provision of Section 34(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
The nominees for confirmation into the Nigerian Petroleum Regulatory Board are: Idaere Gogo Ogan (Chairman); Engr. Sarki Auwalu (Chief Executive); Abiodun A. Adeniji (Executive Director, Finance and Accounts); and Ogbugo Ukoha (Executive Director, Distributions Systems, Storage and Retail Infrastructure).
In a separate letter dated September 16, 2021, President Buhari while relying on the provision of Section 11(3) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, requested the Senate to confirm the appointment of four nominees as Chairman, Chief Executive and Executive Commissioners to the Board of the Upstream Regulatory Commission.
The nominees for confirmation are: Isa Ibrahim Modibo (Chairman); Engr. Gbenga Komolafe (Chief Executive); Hassan Gambo (Executive Commissioner, Finance and Accounts); and Ms Rose Ndong (Executive Commissioner, Exploration and Acreage Management).
According to the President, both requests for the confirmation of the board’s membership were made “in order to fast track the process for the establishment of the Commission”