15 April 2014, Abuja – The board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has not been meeting since its inaugural meeting in July, 2012, sources told Daily Trust.
The board, chaired by Petroleum Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, is mandated by the NNPC Act of 1977 to meet not less than four times in each year.
“The affairs of the Corporation shall, subject to Part II of this Act, be conducted by a Board of Directors of the Corporation,” the law also says.
The act provides three-year tenure for the board, which means that the incumbent board has already spent half of its term.
Officials who spoke to Daily Trust on condition of anonymity said the board never met again since its maiden meeting.
Two letters written to the corporation since last year seeking for information on the activities of the board have not been replied to.
Another letter was written as a reminder to both offices of theminister and Group Managing Director, NNPC but no reply yet.
The first letter written to both the minister and the GMD was dated December 12, 2013. The reminder letters dated March 14, 2014 were received by the Corporation and the minister’s office on March 17, 2014.
The reminder letters read in part “This is to remind you that we are yet to get your response to our letter dated December 12, 2013 with the following content:
In the spirit of the Freedom of Information Act, I write to request for the following information:
“1. When the board of the NNPC was inaugurated 2. The number of meetings it has held since inauguration 3. If none why such meetings have not been held”
But a spokesman for NNPC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, told Daily Trust by telephone penultimate Friday that the board has been meeting.
“When you asked me about it last time, I told you they have been meeting.”
Members of the NNPC board are Group Managing Director Engr. Andrew Yakubu, Mr. Bernard O.N. Otti, Hamman A. Sambo, Alhaji Abdullahi Bukar, Mr. Daniel Wadzani, Prof. Olusegun Okunnu, Mr. Danladi Kifasi, Mr. Steven Oronsaye and Mr. Anthony Madichie [replaced by Mr Ikechukwu Oguine about a week ago].
