President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed new Group Executive Directors (GEDs) for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to fill critical vacancies, which currently exist in the state-run oil company.
The new appointments were contained in a statement issued yesterday by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the president, Dr. Reuben Abati.
For several months, NNPC and its management have come under fire for the unaccounted oil revenue, which should have accrued to the Federation Account.
Suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had blown the whistle on the unremitted oil funds between January 2012 and July 2013, which led to a probe of NNPC’s finances by the Senate Committee on Finance. Since the scandal blew open, the federal government has ordered a forensic audit of the corporation.
Those appointed and their portfolios are Mr. Ian Gregory Udoh, GED, Refining and Petrochemicals, who replaces Mr. Anthony Ogbuigwe; Dr. Dan Iwoene Efebo, GED, Corporate Services, who replaces Mr. Hamman A. Sambo; and Ms. Aisha Mata Abdurrahman, who will be the first female GED in NNPC who will be responsible for Business Development, a directorate created in the corporation.
Also appointed are Mr. Adebayo Ibikunle Ibirogba, GED, Engineering and Technical; Dr. Joseph Thlama Dawha, acting GED, Exploration and Production, who replaces Mr. Abiye Membere, a former employee of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.
Prior to his new appointment, Udoh, an indigene of Akwa Ibom State, was the Managing Director of Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. (PHRC) since November 2012.
According to the statement, Udoh has considerable experience of managing the nation’s refineries, having previously held the position of Executive Director, Operations at both the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd. (KRPC) and the Port Harcourt Refining and Petrochemicals Company Ltd.
In addition, Udoh had served as a General Manager in the Refining and Petrochemicals Directorate of NNPC.
Also, Efebo was the Group General Manager in charge of NNPC’s Human Resources Division. He was General Manager, Human Resources, Brass LNG. He hails from Bayelsa State.
Abdurrahman, an indigene of Kogi State, was before her new appointment, Managing Director of Nikorma, NNPC’s shipping subsidiary from March 2011.
Abdurrahman has also served as Managing Director of Hyson, an NNPC trading subsidiary, and as Executive Director (Services) of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company (PPMC).
The statement added that Ibirogba, a Chemical Engineer, was the Group General Manager, Engineering in NNPC’s Engineering and Technology Directorate, and hails from Ogun State.
He had also served as General Manager (New Business), General Manager (Gas Development) and Group General Manager, Greenfield Refineries. In 2010, Ibirogba became the first African to be elected to the Board of Directors of the World LP Gas Association.
Dawha, who replaces Membere, was prior to his appointment, the Managing Director of Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL) since 2005. He is an indigene of Borno State and has served the corporation diligently over the years in various capacities, in the upstream and downstream sectors of the industry.
All the appointments are with immediate effect, the statement said.
Source: Thisday
