Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari on Friday dissolved the entire board of the corruption-ridden state-run oil company, which observers believe is a prelude to an in-depth probe of the firm’s activities, Yahoo News reports! An official statement from the head of the civil service said the president had “dissolved the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) with immediate effect”.
Buhari, who took office on May 29 after a historic win in elections two months earlier, has vowed to tackle what he has called “the evil of corruption.” Several people have called on the new government to tackle the alleged corruption in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, according to Punch.
Prior to the dissolution, members of the board, according to the NNPC, include the Minister of Petroleum Resources (Chair of the board); the Group Managing Director, Dr. Joseph Dawha; the Group Executive Director, Finance and Accounts, Mr. Bernard Otti; the Group Executive Director, Corporate Services, Dr. Dan Efebo; Alhaji Abdullahi Bukar; Mr. Danladi Wadzani; Prof. Olusegun Okunnu; Mr. Danladi Kifasi; Mr. Steven Oronsanye, and Mr. Ikechukwu Oguine (Coordinator, Legal Services/Secretary to the corporation) according to the report.
The immediate past president, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, had in July 2012 reconstituted a new board of the NNPC, with the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, as the chairperson.
There has been speculation that the Petroleum minister portfolio will be headed by Buhari himself in his yet-to-be-announced cabinet rather than trust anyone else with the ministry that generates most of the country’s revenue.
