28 August 2015, News Wires – Ibe Kachikwu, head of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is taking no prisoners as he forges ahead with implementing the anti-graft policies of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Appointed only last month, Kachikwu has made dramatic changes at NNPC, installing a completely new board and replacing 38 senior managers.
He is cutting back the deadwood and re-seeding NNPC with fresh ideas, giving opportunities to reformers whom he trusts and who will stick to his anti-corruption agenda.
He wants to clean up NNPC, eliminate agents, tackle illegal bunkering, address discontent in the Niger Delta and further indigenise the upstream sector.
It is a very positive start for the former ExxonMobil man at NNPC, the state’s most important revenue generating vehicle, and in the absence of a Petroleum Minister, Kachikwu has naturally emerged into the spotlight.
Another issue on his radar is the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has been around in various guises for seven years but is mired in political wrangling.
He believes at least one year will be required to bring a revised PIB before the national assembly.
“The PIB is important but we need to x-ray the issues. We need at least one year to get it back on track but, with oil going down to $40 per barrel, the PIB cannot be the same,” he says.
Kachikwu has made a good initial impression at NNPC and if his star continues to rise, perhaps President Buhari need look no further for a candidate to eventually fill the vacancy at the Ministry of Petroleum.
– Upstream
