Minister of State for Petroleum accuses NNPC boss of insubordination

Minister of State for Petroleum Dr. Ibe Kachikwu has accused the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Dr. Maikanti Baru of "insubordination and humiliating conducts" in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari.

The letter, dated August 30, 2017, was circulated widely in the social media yesterday.

The NNPC had announced major appointments and redeployments on August 29, 2017.

The minister, who chairs the NNPC Board, complained in the letter that the NNPC Board, which by NNPC statutes was meant to review appointments and postings, was never briefed about the appointment or redeployment.

"Members of the board learnt of these appointments from the pages of social media and the press release of NNPC," he said in the letter.

"Like the previous reorganizations and repostings done since Dr.Baru resumed as GMD, I was never given the opportunity before the announcements to discuss these appointments. This is so despite being Minister of State Petroleum and Chairman NNPC Board.

"The Board of NNPC which you appointed and, which has met every month since its inauguration and, which by the statutes of NNPC is meant to review these planned appointments and postings, was never briefed. Members of the Board learnt of these appointments from the pages of social media and the Press Release of NNPC,"Kachikwu said.

The minister said he had decided to bring to the attention of the president after one year of tolerating "these disrespectful and humiliating conducts" from Mr.Baru.

Minister wants NNPC reorganisation suspended

He consequently appealed to the president to approve that the recently announced reorganization in NNPC be suspended.

"My prayers most humbly and respectfully are that you save the office of the minister state from further humiliation and disrespect by compelling all parastatals to submit to oversight regulatory mandate and proper supervision," the letter read.

Mr.Kachikwu said he was constrained to write to President Buhari after failing to secure appointment to see the president "despite very many attempts."


The minister also pleaded with the president to save NNPC and the oil industry from collapse arising from the non-transparent practices of the GMD.

It is a normal correspondence - Ministry

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources yesterday said the letter was "a normal procedural correspondence by the Minister to the President relating to developments in parastatals under his supervision."

"It is most distressing to the ministry of petroleum resources that a confidential communication to the President on the performance of one of its parastatals can be made public," spokesman for the ministry Idang Alibi said.

"The focus of the communication was on improving efficiency and deepening transparency in the oil and gas sector for continued investor confidence.

"It is noteworthy that the President has been fully supportive of the efforts of the Ministry to entrench good governance and accountability in the oil and gas sector," he added.

Alibi said the ministry remained focused on achieving measurable progress in the implementation of the ongoing oil sector reforms in line with the mandate of the President.

I haven't seen letter - NNPC spokesman

when contacted about the letter yesterday, the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC,NduUghamadu, simply said: "I have not sighted the letter in question neither have I read it... "

He said he wouldn't comment "Until I see such letter."

Between Kachikwu and Baru

There have been little or no clues of a frosty working relationship between the minister and the GMD.

Buhari had in August 2015 appointed Kachikwuas NNPC boss, and named him as Minister in November 2016.

While Kachikwu held sway as NNPC GMD, Baru's name always popped up as his possible replacement.

But in a restructuring exercise at NNPC in March 2016,Mr.Baru was redeployed by Kachikwu from his position then as NNPC's Group Executive Director (Exploration and Production) to the petroleum ministry as Technical Adviser Upstream to the minister.

Baru was however appointed as NNPC GMD on July 4, 2016, while Kachikwu was named as the chairman of the NNPC board.Kachikwu had earlier doubled as minister and NNPC boss.

One of our sources said "Restructuring the NNPC was actually started by Kachikwu when he was the GMD. When Baru came in, he continued with the restructuring but in his own way. The consultants brought in by Kachikwufor the reorganisation exercise were disengaged. I think that was the beginning of the problem between the minister and the GMD."

'They should resolve problem quickly'

A board member of the NNPC, who spoke in confidence, said he was deeply pained that an issue which should have been resolved in camera was thrown to the public galore; thereby subjecting the NNPC to ridicule.

"You cannot rule out scheming in the board of any agency or parastatals and that's exactly what is happening in NNPC. But the most important thing is how the intrigues are managed. It was a serious embarrassment when we read the petition in the social media.

"Of course, all of us in the board are disappointed with the apparent misunderstanding between the minister and the GMD. Yes, there are issues relating to poor communication and consultation.

"But then, these are issues that ought to have been resolved. Remember, we have very prominent people on board, all of them in their own right, including the Chief of Staff to the president.

"Sadly, and for some obvious reasons, the minister ran out of patience and for the fact that he has his ways to the president, he took advantage of that and ensured that his petition was heard.

"We normally meet as at when due; we never missed any of our meetings and even when he was unable to attend for two times because of his tight schedule, the chief of staff had sent his memos.

"This altercation might possibly erode the successes in the oil sector. Remember the crisis we went through when the oil price crashed; but Nigeria was able to find its way at OPEC. At present, fuel price is gradually coming down. I hope this problem would be resolved quickly," he said.

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Life expectancy increases by 8 years in Nigeria

The life expectancy in Nigeria has increased considerably even though people in many other sub-Sahara African countries still live longer and healthier lives, the Annual Global Burden of Disease Study, published last week in the international medical journal, The Lancet, has revealed.

The study shows that a Nigerian man born in 2016 can expect to live 63.7 years, an increase in life expectancy of seven years over the past decade, while a woman has a life expectancy of 66.4 years, up 8.1 years from 2006.

But the study was quick to stress that illnesses and injuries can take away years of healthy life, adding that a Nigerian male born in 2016 will live approximately 55.5 years in good health, while a female will live a healthy life of approximately 57.2 years.

Nigeria has a higher life expectancy than South Africa , Niger , and Cameroon , but lags behind Kenya , Rwanda , and Ethiopia .

According to the Director, Centre for Healthy Start Initiative, Jacob Olusanya, while lending his voice to the study, said: "Life expectancy in Nigeria is growing, but people in many other sub-Sahara African countries are living longer, healthier lives. Communicable diseases like malaria, diarrhea, lower respiratory diseases, and HIV are still taking the lives of far too many Nigerians. Infants and children are at particular risk from these diseases, and neonatal ailments like sepsis and encephalopathy kill thousands of infants. We have much more work to do," he said.

He said, the top five causes of premature deaths in Nigeria are malaria, diarrheal diseases, HIV, neonatal encephalopathy, and lower respiratory infection, noting that the ailments that cause illnesses can be very different, with iron-deficiency anemia, back pain, and migraines topping the causes of years that people live with disability in Nigeria .

"Deaths of children under five are a persistent health challenge. For every 1,000 live births, 46.6 Nigerian children under the age of five die. That far exceeds the global figure of 38.4, and the regional average of countries in western sub-Sahara Africa , which is 40.7. Only a few countries in the region - such as Niger , Mali , and Chad - have higher rates of under-five mortality.

"Moreover, in 2016, for the first time in modern history, fewer than five million children under age five died in one year, as compared to 1990 when 11 million died," he added.

The study, which is the world's largest scientific collaboration on population health, also shows that globally, countries have saved more lives over the past decade, especially among children under five, but persistent health problems, such as obesity, conflict, and mental illness, comprise a 'triad of troubles,' and prevent people from living long, healthy lives.

Researchers attribute the global health landmark to improvements in increased educational levels of mothers, rising per capita incomes, declining levels of fertility, increased vaccination programmes, mass distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets, improved water and sanitation, and a wide array of other health programmes funded by development funding for health.

"Death is a powerful motivator, both for individuals and for countries, to address diseases that have been killing us at high rates," said the Director, Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington , Dr. Christopher Murray.

"But, we are being much less motivated to address issues leading to illnesses. A 'triad of troubles' - obesity, conflict, and mental illness, including substance use disorders - poses a stubborn and persistent barrier to active and vigorous lifestyle," he added.

He said the study also shows that one of the most alarming risks in the Global Burden of Diseases (GBD) is excess body weight, adding that the rate of illness related to people being too heavy is rising quickly, and the disease burden can be found in all socio demographic levels. "High body mass index (BMI) is the fourth largest contributor to the loss of healthy life, after high blood pressure, smoking, and high blood sugar.

"Deaths over the past decade due to conflict and terrorism more than doubled. Recent conflicts, such as those in Nigeria , Syria , Yemen , South Sudan, and Libya , are major public health threats, both in regard to casualties and because they lead to long-term physical and mental consequences.

"Mental illness and substance use disorders continued to contribute substantially to the loss of healthy life in 2016, affecting all countries regardless of their socioeconomic status. Treatment rates for mental and substance use disorders remain low. Even in high-income countries where treatment coverage has increased, the prevalence of the most common disorders has not changed."

Murray said the GBD is the largest and most comprehensive epidemiological effort to quantify health loss across places and over time, noting that it draws on the work of over 2,500 collaborators from more than 130 countries and territories.

"IHME coordinates the study. This year, more than 13 billion data points are included; the papers comprise a complete edition of The Lancet. This year's GBD improves upon the previous annual update through new data, improvements in methodology, and a measure for tracking completeness of vital registration information," he said.

Other findings of the study shows that poor diet is associated with one in five deaths globally; non-communicable diseases were responsible for 72 per cent of all deaths worldwide in 2016, in contrast to 58 per cent in 1990. It also shows that within the past decade, diabetes rose in rank order from 17th to 9th leading cause of death in low-middle income countries.

Continuing, the findings show that tobacco is linked to 7.1 million deaths, and in more than 100 countries, smoking was among the leading risk factors for loss of healthy life.

"The leading causes of premature death globally included: ischemic heart disease, stroke, lower respiratory infections, diarrhea-related diseases, and road injuries. Ischemic heart disease was the leading cause of premature death for men in 113 countries and for women in 97 countries.

Only four of the leading 20 causes of disability in 2016 - stroke, COPD, diabetes, and falls -were also leading causes of death," the GBD study shows.

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