Hamisu Muhammad
months since Dr. Goodluck Jonathan took over the reigns as Acting President of the Federal Republic, men and women from his native oil-rich Niger Delta region have grabbed and cornered twelve of the most plum positions in the Petroleum Resources Ministry and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Daily Trust confirmed in Abuja at the weekend.
The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke, the permanent secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum, Mrs. Elizabeth Umerun the director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, four out of the NNPC's eight Group Executive Directors as well as its Company Secretary are all from the South-South region, Daily Trust learnt. Jonathan also failed to appoint a Minister of State for Petroleum Resources in order to give Mrs. Madueke an unfettered hand. He however appointed ministers of state for many lesser ministries.
In just two weeks as Petroleum Resources Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke carried out a major staff reorganisation that ended up inserting her kinsmen from the Niger Delta in key positions in the NNPC and the DPR, leaving many other large geopolitical of the country unrepresented or underrepresented in these agencies.
Officers from Mrs. Allison-Madueke's native Bayelsa State got the lion's share of lucrative NNPC and MPR posts, alongside others from the South- South states. Under the restructuring, Mr. Andrew Obaje from Bayelsa State took over the powerful post of Director, Department of Petroleum Resources [DPR], the federal government agency that allocates oil blocs and supervises the entire industry.
Mr Voka Mokoru from Delta State became the NNPC's new Group Executive Director (Gas & Power); Mr Faithful Abbiye Suku from Rivers State became NNPC's Group Executive Director (Corporate Services); Mr Billy Agha, also from Delta State, became NNPC's Group Executive Director (Engineering & Technical) while Engr. Philips Chukwu from Imo State is the Group Executive Director, Exploration & Production of the NNPC. Imo is not a Niger Delta state, but it is a minor oil producer.
Under Mrs. Madueke's changes, another Bayelsan, Mr Anthony Fiddi became the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Service (NAPIMS), the NNPC subsidiary that manages all the Joint Venture Operations as well as linkages between NNPC and all the International Oil Companies (IOCs).
NNPC's Human Resources Division is now led by a Group General Manager, Mr. Chris Osarumwense from Edo State who will also report directly to another Niger Deltan, the GED C&S.
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The changes made by the minister also have Mr Abiye Membre from Rivers State as the Managing Director, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company, which is the major provider of NNPC's revenue at the moment. NNPC's lucrative Crude Oil Marketing Department is now under the supervision of a Group General Manager, Mr Jedy Agba, who is from Delta State.
Many oil industry officials now accuse the Minister of catapulting fellow Niger Deltans over and above their colleagues from other parts of the country. Some of the officials affected by the changes who are yet to be assigned other duties include the former GGM Human Resources Malam Auwalu Abubakar, the acting GGM Crude Oil Marketing, Malam Farouk Bello and Mrs. Aisha Abdurahman, the former MD Hyson.
Efforts to obtain comments from the minister or her aides proved abortive at the weekend because Mrs Allison-Madueke and several top NNPC officials had travelled to the US to attend an international oil conference in Houston, Texas. Messages sent to the Chief Press Secretary of the Petroleum Ministry, Clinton Oni and NNPC's spokesman Levi Ajuonuma were not answered.
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