Appoints new GEDs
20 March 2014, Sweetcrude, Abuja – Nigeria’s President Goodluck Jonathan Wednesday sacked the director in charge of crude oil exploration and production in state oil firm NNPC, Abiye Membere, a government statement said.
The president named Joseph Thlama Dawha, from Northeastern Borno state and managing director of Integrated Data Services Ltd, an NNPC subsidiary, to replace Membere, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati said in the statement.
The president also sacked NNPC’s director in charge of refinery and petrochemical Anthony Ogbuigwe, and appointed in his place, Ian Gregory Udoh.
Although the government did not give official reasons for the changes, which it said was with immediate effect, Mr. Membere’s tenure has been dogged by allegations of high-handedness, controversy over contract award, unusual delay in the processing of pending contracts and a complete disregard for Nigeria’s local and foreign investment partners.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. has been having running battles lately with its foreign partners in managing key oil projects, which industry sources said was responsible for cost overrun of many of the projects.
Similarly, Nigeria been gripped by fuel shortage over the last one month, due to import delays while output from local refineries continued to diminish because of their poor state.