Ripples In NNPC -Joseph Dawha To Be Sacked, Baru To Resume In Days AS GMD

 Uneasy calm now pervades the corporate headquarters of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC as its GMD may soon be sacked and a new one appointed by President Mohammadu Buhari with scary lopsided top management executives already penciled down to take charge. 

Barring any unforeseen circumstance, the Street Journal authoritatively reports that the appointment of a former Group General Manager of NAPIMS, a subsidiary of NNPC, Dr MK Baru may be announced any moment from now by President Mohammadu Buhari to take over from Dr. Joseph T. Dawha, the incumbent NNPC boss.

It was reliably gathered that Baru is billed to be sacked along with all the four executive directors appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan on August 1, 2014. 

The corporation had been touted by economy watchers to be President Buhari’s starting point on his avowed war against corruption. The NNPC was last year enmeshed in corruption allegations occasioned by the controversial management of the fuel subsidy that was generally believed to be far from being transparent.

The StreetJournal's investigation however revealed that a near all Northerner executive management to be headed by Dr Baru is in the oven only awaiting the president’s approval before it is made public. Further investigation revealed that the following individuals have been penciled down to take charge of the four NNPC’s Directorates; GED Corporate Services  Alhaji Abdurrazaq,  GED Finance and Accounts , Alhaji Sambo, GED Exploration Production,  Alhaji Sa'idi Farouk, GED Commercial and Investment Alhaji Isah Inuwa,  GGM, Crude Oil Marketing, Mr Matashi.

Others are: MD, PPMC, Farouk Bello, MD, NPDC, Malhaji Namtari, Group General Manager, Finance, Alhaji A.A. Kallamu, Group General Manager, NAPIMS, Mr Dafe Sejebor, Group General Manager, Audit, Alhaji Aliyu Zubairu, Group General Manager, HR, Mrs Mariam Sani, MD, Duke Oil, Alhaji Musa Yola, General Manager, Human Resources, Alh Saeed Abubakar, General Manager, Commercial, Crude Oil, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq. GM, Finance, NAPIMS, M. A. Balami, and GM, NIPEX, Alhaji M. Ali Sarah.

It was reliably gathered that Dr Baru now awaits the president to settle down in office before his letter and those of others are distributed.  investigations revealed that the plan that had been shrouded in secrecy by the kitchen cabinet of the president is now causing ripples in the NNPC. 

An industry source confided that the appointments would negate the much orchestrated war against corruption and injustice that the present administration was well identified with.

The source, a chief executive of an oil servicing firm, noted that sensitive appointments in an organization like NNPC should not only meet the federal character principle of the government, but must be seen to have satisfied the requirement. He noted that the present administration should refrain from any action that was capable of igniting crisis in the Niger Delta. 

Until his appointment, as the 16th GMD of the NNPC, Dr Dawha was NNPC’s Group Executive Director in charge of Exploration and Production. 

Dr. M. K. Baru, attended Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, in Kaduna State of Nigeria; where he obtained Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) with a first class honors. He also holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical engineering.

Before his appointment as GGM-NAPIMS, Dr. Baru had worked in various capacities in both the Upstream and Downstream Sectors of NNPC. These include Group General Manager of Greenfield Refinery Projects, Managing Director of Hyson, Executive Director of Nigerian Gas Company (NGC), General Manager - Gas Division of NAPIMS, Manager - Operations, Procurement Management Services and Manager - Engineering for National Engineering and Technical Company Limited (NETCO).

During his initial stint with NAPIMS which spanned from July 1993 to July 1999, Dr. Baru executed several Gas projects which are utilizing billions of standard cubic feet of gas per day.

Several other ongoing projects were also conceptualized under his care. He planned the projects that would ensure flare-out by 2008 and made huge savings while overseeing the Joint Venture Gas Projects.

He was also the NNPC's Chief Technical Negotiator on the West African Gas Pipeline project from July 1999 to April 2004.

Dr. Baru has been the Chairman of NNPC Anti - Corruption Committee since September 2004 till date; and has relentlessly sensitized staff on obligations and laws that govern corruption and corrupt practices.

Dr. Baru is a fellow of the Nigerian Society of Engineers (FNSE) and a recipient of the Presidential Merit Award of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers.