Baru, Others Join President For Prayers In Aso Rock Mosque
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu,
yesterday declined comments after emerging from a closed-door meeting with
President Muhammadu
Buhari, which lasted over one hour.
When State House Correspondents approached him and sought to know what
transpired during his meeting with the President, following the controversy
generated by his recent letter to the President, Kachikwu only responded: “No
comment.”
Prodded further as he walked past via the alleyway leading to the exit,
in the company of an unidentified aide and Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media
and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the minister simply maintained his silence.
The main issues and outcome of the meeting remained unknown at press
time, although it may not be unconnected with his letter to the President
regarding the alleged sidelining of the Board of the Nigeria National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) by its Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru.
Kachikwu arrived at the Presidential Villa about 11:34 am and proceeded
straight to meet Buhari in the office.
The meeting came barely few days after Kachikwu was said to have written
to the President, accusing Baru of sundry administrative misdemeanor, including
the alleged fraudulent $25billion contract he said was capable of jeopardising
the administration’s policies aimed at repositioning the petroleum sector.
In the letter dated August 30, which was leaked to the public, Kachikwu
had complained to the President over what he considers as insubordination by
the NNPC boss.
A copy of the letter trending on the social media indicates that the
minister is also unhappy with the manner recent changes in the NNPC were
handled and accused Baru of humiliating the Board.
Dated a day after the NNPC announced a massive shakeup, which affected 55
management staff, the minister said it was not 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 the President 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.
Meanwhile, Baru was later sighted in the Presidential Villa, where he had
gone to join Buhari and other Muslim faithful to participate in the Friday
Juma’at prayer session in the mosque located in Aso Rock.
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