OpeOluwani Akintayo
05 October 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Minister of States for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu will meet with President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday.
According to reports, the meeting which was earlier scheduled to hold today was rescheduled to tomorrow by 11 a.m. after a review of the president’s official schedules.
The minister is expected to further discuss the allegations against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC’s Group Managing Director, GMD, Maikanti Baru with the president at the meeting.
The meeting comes on the heels of a leaked memo by Kachikwu to the President on August 30, accusing Baru of insubordination and corruption.
According to the minister, Baru’s insubordination could hamper developments of the oil sector.
“Mr President, yesterday like many other Nigerians, I resumed work confronted by many complications of massive changes within NNPC. Like the previous reorganisation and reposting done since Dr Baru resumed as GMD, I was never given the opportunity before the announcements to discuss these appointments. This is so despite being Minister of State Petroleum and Chairman NNPC Board”, the memo read in part.
In a swift reaction, Kachikwu through a release signed by the Director of Press Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Idang Alibi, owned up to writing the leaked letter.
The ministry had described the letter as “a normal procedural correspondence” by the minister.
According to the statement, it was unfortunate that such official memo written by Kachikwu to President Buhari was leaked to the public.
“The attention of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has been drawn to a publication on a memo emanating from the HMSPR to the President”.
“The communication under reference is a normal procedural correspondence by the Minister to the President relating to developments in parastatals under his supervision. It is most distressing to the ministry of petroleum resources that a confidential communication to the President on the performance of one of its parastatals can be made public.”
No reaction has since been heard from Baru’s end concerning the allegations leveled against him.
However on Wednesday, the Senate took up the matter, setting up a committee to probe Kachikwu’s allegations against Baru.