Major oil industry changes were announced today as President Umar Musa Yar’dua picked the Coordinator of Special Duties at the NNPC to replace Abubakar Yaradua as Group Managing Director.
Mohammed Barkindo was at the Presidential Villa in Abuja this afternoon to receive briefings regarding his new appointment.
His position as the Coordinator, Special Duties, at the NNPC was equivalent to a Group Executive Director.
The NNPC management structure comprises of a group managing director and six group executive directors, heading Exploration & Production, Refineries & Petrochemicals, Finance & Accounts, and Corporate Services. The others are Commercial & Investment, and Engineering & Technology.
Mr. Barkindo, a political scientist, was a former Head of the London office of the NNPC: A former Deputy Managing Director at the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas who also acted as the Secretary General of OPEC. He was a former Managing Director of Hyson and Carlson, a joint venture between Vitol and the NNPC, which lifts more than a quarter million barrels per day of Nigeria’s crude oil.
In what looks like a re-organization in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas sector, Mr. Barkindo’s elevation coincides with the retirement of Abubakar Yaradua, the hitherto Group Managing Director and Sena Anthony, Group Legal Adviser.
NNPC insiders believe this is the beginning of the much anticipated shake-up in the industry as the Mr. Yar’dua moves to implement the programme to unbundle the oil giant.
The core of the reform is expected to be the creation of independent, profit-driven state oil and gas institutes made up of a national oil company, and divide into a National Petroleum Asset Management Agency, a Nigerian Petroleum Directorate and a Nigerian Petroleum Inspectorate.
Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo hails from Yola in Adamawa State.
Friday, January 16, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
Ovia Meets With EFCC Chairman, Justice Minister
Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia was in Abuja yesterday where he met with the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Farida Waziri and the Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Michael Aondokaa.
An official of Zenith Bank who confirmed Ovia's visit, however said it was voluntary. Reports say the EFCC actually arrested Ovia and took him to Abuja.
Ovia's meetings with Waziri and Aondoakaa were related to the investigation of the EFCC into the 3.6billion mysterious withdrawal from the account of the Rivers State government lodged with the Bank.
Three officials of Zenith, including the Branch Manager, the Head of Operation, and the Relationship Manager of the account in the branch the withdrawals were made have also been arrested by the EFCC as part of the investigations.
An official of Zenith Bank who confirmed Ovia's visit, however said it was voluntary. Reports say the EFCC actually arrested Ovia and took him to Abuja.
Ovia's meetings with Waziri and Aondoakaa were related to the investigation of the EFCC into the 3.6billion mysterious withdrawal from the account of the Rivers State government lodged with the Bank.
Three officials of Zenith, including the Branch Manager, the Head of Operation, and the Relationship Manager of the account in the branch the withdrawals were made have also been arrested by the EFCC as part of the investigations.
EFCC probes Zenith Bank over Rivers State's missing N3.6bn
EFCC probes Zenith Bank over Rivers State's missing N3.6bn
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is interrogating some officials of Zenith Bank Plc as part of its investigations into the withdrawal of N3.6billion from an account belonging to the Rivers State Government and domiciled with the bank.
A man, whose name was given as Harrison B. A. Princewill, but whose identity is not yet known, is said to have made the withdrawals in about 10 instalments this year.
The development, 9janext learnt, is generating disquiet in the banking industry.
Sources within the EFCC said the bank did not notify the anti-graft body and the Central Bank of Nigeria of the transactions and has not been able to provide details of the real identity of Mr. Princewill.
The Bank is also said not to have been able to explain the nature of its transactions with Mr. Princewill to investigators and was alleged to have failed to file a Suspicious Transaction Report on his withdrawals to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) of the EFCC, as required by law.
The account, number 6010916587, has been domiciled with the bank since 2004; but the unknown customer, believed by investigators to be an official of the Rivers State Government operating under a pseudonym, made the huge withdrawals this year.
The CBN had in November 28 2001 circular directed all banks to refer all complex and unusually large transactions to the EFCC.
The CBN had circularised a Know Your Customer manual to the banks, directing them to take every measure to always ascertain the identities of those who do business with them.
Investigations into the withdrawals, which led to the arrest of some officials of the Rivers State government, including the Governor's Chief of Staff, Nyeson Wike, triggered the resignation of the Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Ashishana Okauru, from office.
Sources quoted the interim report of the investigations as having declared that Mr.Princewill could not be found. Investigators were also said to have insinuated that a top government official might have used the name to siphon public funds.
Chairman of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, had on October 10, 2008, queried Mr. Okauru over Zenith Bank's claim that it filed a suspicious transaction report to the NFIU regarding Mr. Princewill's withdrawals from the account. Ms. Waziri said: "In the course of investigating how Rivers State Government funds were moved through Zenith Bank Plc, Zenith Bank claimed to have filed reports of the movement of these funds with the NFIU and it is surprising that the NFIU did not flag or alert the operations department about the massive movement of funds. Consequently, I will require your explanation on why the NFIU neglected to place an alert with the operations department on the above fund."
But Mr. Okauru, in his reply to the query, said the bank did not submit any STR to his organisation regarding the movement of the controversial funds.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is interrogating some officials of Zenith Bank Plc as part of its investigations into the withdrawal of N3.6billion from an account belonging to the Rivers State Government and domiciled with the bank.
A man, whose name was given as Harrison B. A. Princewill, but whose identity is not yet known, is said to have made the withdrawals in about 10 instalments this year.
The development, 9janext learnt, is generating disquiet in the banking industry.
Sources within the EFCC said the bank did not notify the anti-graft body and the Central Bank of Nigeria of the transactions and has not been able to provide details of the real identity of Mr. Princewill.
The Bank is also said not to have been able to explain the nature of its transactions with Mr. Princewill to investigators and was alleged to have failed to file a Suspicious Transaction Report on his withdrawals to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) of the EFCC, as required by law.
The account, number 6010916587, has been domiciled with the bank since 2004; but the unknown customer, believed by investigators to be an official of the Rivers State Government operating under a pseudonym, made the huge withdrawals this year.
The CBN had in November 28 2001 circular directed all banks to refer all complex and unusually large transactions to the EFCC.
The CBN had circularised a Know Your Customer manual to the banks, directing them to take every measure to always ascertain the identities of those who do business with them.
Investigations into the withdrawals, which led to the arrest of some officials of the Rivers State government, including the Governor's Chief of Staff, Nyeson Wike, triggered the resignation of the Director of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Ashishana Okauru, from office.
Sources quoted the interim report of the investigations as having declared that Mr.Princewill could not be found. Investigators were also said to have insinuated that a top government official might have used the name to siphon public funds.
Chairman of the EFCC, Farida Waziri, had on October 10, 2008, queried Mr. Okauru over Zenith Bank's claim that it filed a suspicious transaction report to the NFIU regarding Mr. Princewill's withdrawals from the account. Ms. Waziri said: "In the course of investigating how Rivers State Government funds were moved through Zenith Bank Plc, Zenith Bank claimed to have filed reports of the movement of these funds with the NFIU and it is surprising that the NFIU did not flag or alert the operations department about the massive movement of funds. Consequently, I will require your explanation on why the NFIU neglected to place an alert with the operations department on the above fund."
But Mr. Okauru, in his reply to the query, said the bank did not submit any STR to his organisation regarding the movement of the controversial funds.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
