The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has removed the Managing Directors of its three state-owned refineries and directed management staff with less than a year to retirement to proceed on exit.
In what appears to be a major shake-up, the company has also promoted some personnel to replace the outgoing staff as part of efforts to reposition the organisation under a new leadership structure.
Reports revealed that the development was communicated to affected employees via individual emails, although the total number of those impacted remains unclear.
Sources confirmed that the Managing Director of the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), Ibrahim Onoja; the Managing Director of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company (KRPC), Dr Mustafa Sugungun; and the Managing Director of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), Efifia Chu, have all been removed. Replacements for their roles have yet to be officially announced.
President Bola Tinubu had earlier sacked the former Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Mele Kyari, along with the company’s board, and appointed former Shell Nigeria boss, Bayo Ojulari, as the new head of the national oil company.
The NaijaTimesUSA also gathered that Bala Wunti, the former Chief Upstream Investment Officer at the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), who was recently reassigned to head the HSC office in Abuja, is no longer with the company.
A senior insider, speaking off the record, confirmed the removals but dismissed suggestions that the changes were about removing loyalists of the former GCEO.
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They said the shake-up was a performance-based reshuffle, arguing that those previously in charge “were going in circles” and some of them had “become part of the problem, rather than the solution.”
One official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter officially, told our correspondent, “The President did this because of their performance, because we needed to do things differently. The former people were taking us in circles, and then some of them became part of the problem.
“There needs to be a new direction. You need new people to bring new energy into the system. Look at them. Every one of them is capable. They are core industry professionals, real industry experts who know the industry inside and out. They are not politicians. This is the first time we have an entire cast of technocrats.”
Another official said, “It is not about (Kyari’s) age. The NNPCL is a limited liability company and is not governed by civil service rules. So, it’s not about his age. There is always a need to get new brains that can deliver in new directions. The President has his mandate, which is clearly stated in the statement. He gave them his performance metrics, such as the amount of crude we produce. He asked them to review all blocks because we want to know which ones are producing and which are not.
“We have to optimise those that are not producing. He wants them to review all our assets within a certain period and give us good production. By 2030, they must be producing 3,000,000 barrels per day, and between now and 2027, we must stabilise at 2,000,000 per day. Then, gas, we must produce 10 billion cubic meters between now and 2030. These are performance metrics, and that is how it should be done.
“But the former system was not giving us that. They have been around the same spot for years. Our OPEC quota has not improved much since 1973. We have not been able to meet them. That is why reforms are important.”
The insider further noted that some senior staff had already been promoted. It was gathered that reshuffle displaced heads of crude of trading, Human Resources and Relationship and Stakeholder Management.
The source said the positions have been replaced internally, adding that the changes has triggered upward movement within the system.
Speaking on the latest shakeup that swept the managers of the three refineries under NNPCL management, a source, said, “The three MDs have been asked to leave.
“They include the MDs of Port Harcourt Refining Company, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, and the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company. Some other senior managers were asked to leave as well.”
Another official at the company confirmed this, stating that “Bala Wunti was also affected. Several of them who have a year to retirement were asked to go. Maryam Idrisu was appointed Managing Director of NNPC Trading.” NNPC Trading is the subsidiary responsible for all crude oil transactions.