Kachikwu speaks on explosive Memo to Buhari over NNPC GMD

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, has reacted to the publication of the confidential memo which he wrote to President Muhammadu Buhari on the conduct of the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru.

Kachikwu described as “distressing,” the circulation of the memo he wrote to President Buhari about some recent actions of Baru. The memo surfaced on social media Tuesday and has since gone viral.

Quoted by Premium Times, Kachikwu said the letter was part of routine exchanges he regularly shares with the president about “developments in parastatals under his supervision.”

The junior minister conveyed his reaction through the spokesperson for the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Idang Alibi.

According to Mr. Alibi, the letter was aimed not at denigrating Mr. Baru but at “improving efficiency and deepening transparency in the oil and gas sector for continued investor confidence.”

Alibi’s explanation came shortly after a three-page letter which his boss, Kachikwu, wrote to President Buhari on August 30 surfaced on the internet.

Premium Times published online the contents of the memo in which Dr. Kachikwu criticized Baru over some allegedly unauthorized actions and appealed to Buhari to take urgent steps to address his concerns.

According to Kachikwu, “parastatals in the ministry and all CEOs of these parastatals must be aligned with the policy drive of the ministry to allow the sector register the growth that has eluded it for many years.” He said that “to do otherwise or to exempt any of the parastatals would be to emplace a stunted growth for the industry”

Specifically, the minister accused Mr. Baru of effecting changes in personnel at the NNPC without recourse to NNPC board or the ministry.

Mr. Kachikwu, who also chairs the NNPC board, said the body has statutory duties to review appointments and postings by the state-run oil firm before they take effect.

The minister said he suffered “disrespectful and humiliating conducts” from Mr. Baru, according to the memo, which he wrote after concerted efforts to have a one-on-one appointment with the president at the State House fell through.

At the center of the feud was the August 29 changes that affected up to 55 key executives at the NNPC.

Mr. Baru said the move was to “reposition” the NNPC and “fill the gaps created due to statutory retirements of staff.”

Amongst the five requests which Mr. Kachikwu sought from Mr. Buhari was an immediate suspension of the exercise until the “GMD, myself and the Board have made relevant input to same.”

In his reaction, Mr. Idang said Mr. Buhari backed Mr. Kachikwu’s efforts to “entrench good governance and accountability in the oil and gas sector.”

But the statement was silent on if the president had acted on the minister’s memo since about five weeks after it was written.

Premium Times reorts that until now, Messrs. Kachikwu and Baru had largely concealed their feud from the media, although it was first hinted more than a year ago.

In September 2016, the Daily Independent in Lagos reported a friction between Mr. Kachikwu and Mr. Baru, which centred on the administration’s Niger Delta policy.

While Mr. Kachikwu, a native of Delta State, urged peaceful resolution and increased economic development for the restive region; Mr. Baru was in favour of a military crackdown on criminal elements vandalising oil pipelines, Daily Independent reported.

The NNPC GMD said the economic sabotage by militants had cut deeply into the country’s revenues, a situation he said was unsustainable.

Mr. Kachikwu did not play up the Niger Delta crisis in his latest letter to Mr. Buhari, focusing instead on the consequences of disregard for extant regulations in the wake of disruptive technological advancements which could see fossil fuel become redundant in the years ahead, according to Premium Times.

Mr. Kachikwu previously doubled as the Minister of State for Petroleum and GMD of NNPC until he was relieved of the latter post by Mr. Buhari on June 4, 2016, same day that Mr. Baru was named as a replacement.