The new Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr.Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu on the order of President Muhammadu Buhari has fired all Group Executive Directors (GED) of the corporation.
The affected GEDs, whose retirement was with immediate effect, include Mr. Bernard Otti, GED Finance and Accounts; Dr. Timothy Okon, acting GED Exploration and Production, who also doubled as Coordinator Corporate Planning and Strategy of NNPC; Mr. Adebayo Ibirogba, GED Engineering and Technology; and Dr. David Ige, GED Gas and Power.
Others are Ms. Aisha Abdurrahman, GED Commercial and Investment; Dr. Dan Efebo, GED Corporate Services; Mr. Ian Udoh, GED Refining and Petrochemicals; and Dr. Attahiru Yusuf, GED Business Development. In a statement from NNPC spokesman, Ohi Alegbe, the new GMD personally conveyed the government’s decision to retire the eight GEDs to them. Kachikwu also expressed the government’s gratitude for their services to the corporation and wished them success in their future endeavours.
In addition to the removal of the GEDs, NNPC also confirmed that the number of directorates in the corporation were slashed from eight to four . The new directorates and those who will head them are: Refining and Engineering – Dr. M.K Baru; Exploration and Production – Denis Nnamdi; Commercial and Investment – Bankole Komolafe; and Finance- Isiaka AbdulRazak.
A top NNPC official said Kachikwu took the decision as a cost cutting measure in the face of dwindling oil revenue and is aimed at introducing efficiency in NNPC. “It is a cost cutting measure brought on by dwindling oil revenue. Besides, the GMD wants to introduce efficiency as most of the directorates were set up around the personalities who headed them and they were duplicating one another’s functions,” he said. He added that the sack of the eight GEDs was just the tip of the iceberg, as many more senior executives of the corporation would also be shown the exit next week.
