Headline

Just in: Buhari Sacks Baru, GMD, NNPC

Published

7 years ago

June 20, 2019

Editor

President Muhammadu Buhari has removed Dr. Maikanti Baru as Group Managing Director, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as the shake up continue

The President also appointed Mele Kyari as a replacement for Baru and he is expected to work with the current officers till Juky 7.

Here is the release

The statement:

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Mele Kolo Kyari as the new Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

A release Thursday morning in Abuja by the NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, Ndu Ughamadu, stated that President Buhari also appointed alongside Kyari, seven new Chief Operating Officers.

Until his new appointment, Kyari, a geologist, was Group General Manager, Crude Oil Marketing Division of NNPC and also doubled, since 13th May, 2018, as Nigeria’s National Representative to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC.

President Buhari has directed that the New GMD and the newly appointed Chief Operating Officers work with the current occupiers of the various offices till 7th July, 2019 towards a smooth transition on 8th July 2019 when their appointments would take effect to ensure a smooth transition. However, the appointment of Farouk Garba Said (North West), who is replacing a retiring Chief Operating Officer, is effective from 28th June, 2019.

The newly appointed Chief Operating Officers are Roland Onoriode Ewubare (South-South) – Chief Operating Officer, Upstream, Engr. Mustapha Yinusa Yakubu (North Central) – Chief Operating Officer Refining and Petrochemicals, Engr. Yusuf Usman (North East) – Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Ms. Lawrencia Nwadiabuwa Ndupu (South East), Chief Operating Officer Ventures.

Others include Umar Isa Ajiya (North West) – Chief Financial Officer, Engr. Adeyemi Adetunji (South West) – Chief Operating Officer, Downstream and Farouk Garba Said (North West) – Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services.

Mallam Kyari is a quintessential crude oil marketer with prerequisite certification and outfield pedigree in Petroleum Economics and crude oil and gas trading.

In the last 27 years he had traversed the entire value chain of the Petroleum Industry, with exceptional records of performance.

Under his watch, the Crude Oil Marketing Division has recorded noticeable transformation in the management and sales of the various Nigeria’s crude oil grades via an infusion of transparency and automation of the processes, the release by the NNPC spokesperson, stated.

Kyari would be the 19th Group Managing Director of the National Oil Company.

Headline

UK Court Acquittal: Diezani Goes Spiritual, Says God Will Always Be God

Published

5 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

Nigeria’s former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, has reacted to her acquittal by a London court after bribery charges brought against her were dismissed.

The Southwark Crown Court in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday acquitted the former minister of all charges, including five counts of accepting bribes and one count of conspiracy to commit bribery.

Reacting to the judgment, Alison-Madueke expressed relief and said she and her family had endured years of emotional distress over the case.

Speaking to News Central, she said she has remained in the United Kingdom since the legal proceedings began 11 years ago.

She said: “I’m just thankful to God, it’s been arduous, almost 11 years. It’s been traumatic not just for me but for my family, friends, my 93-year-old mother in Port Harcourt and for my son.

“It has been a hard journey, but I tell you this, God will always do as He will. God will be God and God is not a man that He should lie; when He promises you something, He will see it through.

“For almost 11 years I have been here. I did my job to the best of my ability.”

Headline

I Never Saw Report that Led to Natasha’s Suspension, Says Ireti Kingibe

Published

6 hours ago

June 18, 2026

Eric

The lawmaker representing the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), at the Senate, Ireti Kingibe, says she did not see any report that led to the suspension of Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan.

Kingibe made this disclosure on Wednesday when she featured in an interview on Arise Television’s ‘Prime Time’.

She said she was at a retreat with Edo North Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, when she heard about the report.

“I never saw the report that led to Natasha’s suspension. I was at a retreat. I had earlier stated that I was there with three or four other senators who are members of the committee.

“We attended the Committee on Petitions and Public Complaints, signed the attendance register, and I later left for the tax reform retreat, which I considered more important at the time.

“It affects my constituents much more than disciplining a senator, and I figured that the other people who were not part of that committee would take care of it.

“I even complained to other Senators, specifically to Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe. I complained to him very bitterly that I had not seen that report. I didn’t see it then. I have not seen it till now,” she said.

Headline

UK Court Clears Ex-Petroleum Minister Alison-Madueke of All Corruption Charges

Published

23 hours ago

June 17, 2026

Eric

Former Nigerian oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke was on Wednesday found not guilty by a London jury of six bribery charges, after ‌a rare corruption trial of a high-profile former energy official.

Alison-Madueke, minister for petroleum resources between 2010 and 2015 under then-president Goodluck Jonathan, stood trial charged with five counts of accepting bribes and a charge of conspiracy to commit bribery, which she denied.

Prosecutors ⁠alleged Alison-Madueke, 65, was given “a life of luxury” in London from oil and gas industry figures seeking lucrative contracts in Nigeria, which has long grappled with mismanagement and corruption.

But the former minister, who was also briefly president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, said she never took any bribes and had no real influence over the awarding of lucrative government contracts.

After a trial at London’s Southwark ‌Crown ⁠Court, Alison-Madueke was acquitted by a jury of all six charges she faced after more than 46 hours of deliberation.

The not guilty verdicts are a major blow to British authorities, which began their investigation into corruption allegations against Alison-Madueke ⁠more than a decade ago.

Alison-Madueke stood trial alongside oil industry executive Olatimbo Ayinde, 54, who was charged with one count of bribery relating to Alison-Madueke ⁠and a separate count of bribery of a foreign public official.

Alison-Madueke’s brother Doye Agama, 69, was charged with conspiracy to commit bribery ⁠with his sister relating to payments made to Agama’s church.

Both Ayinde and Agama denied the charges against them and were also acquitted by the jury.

Source: Reuters