Ifeanyi Araraume dropped as Buhari appoints new board of NNPC Limited

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Margret Chuba Okadigbo as board chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Margret is the wife of the late former senate president, Chuba Okadigbo.

Femi Adesina, special adviser to the president on media and publicity, announced this in a statement on Wednesday.

With the new appointment, Buhari dropped Ifeanyi Araraume (representing south-east), who was appointed last September as board chair of the NNPC Limited.

The inauguration of the board earlier scheduled for November 2021 was suspended.

TheCable understands that Araraume from Imo state was dropped because of the internal political crisis between Governor Hope Uzodinma and Rochas Okorocha. Araraume and Okorocha are loyal to another faction of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state.

“President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed the board and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, in accordance with the power vested in him under Section 59(2) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021,” the statement reads.

“Chairman of the Board is Senator Margret Chuba Okadigbo (South East), Mele Kolo Kyari, Chief Executive Officer, and Umar I. Ajiya, Chief Financial Officer.

“Other Board Members are; 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 appointments take effect from the date of the incorporation of the NNPC Limited.”

The president also appointed executive commissioners of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

They are Nuhu Habib (Kano), executive commissioner, Development and Production, 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,” the statement added.

“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 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; Effiong Abia (Akwa Ibom), Bobboi Ahmed (Adamawa), and Engr. Abdullahi Bukar (Katsina).”

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.