Any moment from now , President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua will remove heads of key Federal Government parastatals as part of efforts to strengthen his administration, THISDAY has learnt.
Indications emerged last night that the First two to go may be the Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NN-PC), Engr. Funsho Kupolokun, and the Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mrs. Irene Chigbue.
Barring any last-minute change of mind by the president, the changes will be announced today or tomorrow, THISDAY was also told.
Former Delta State Comm -issioner for Finance , Mr. David Edevbie, is tipped to replace Chigbue, while Kupolokun may hand over to the most senior official at the Corporation pending the appointment of a substantive GMD.
Kupolokun was appointed in 2003 to replace JACKSON Gaius-Obaseki, while Chi-gbue took over from Dr. Julius Bala in March 2005.
The position of the GMD of NNPC is perceived to be a political appointment. Kupolokun had been rumoured to be on his way Out ever since the tenure of former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, ended on May 29, 2007, but he has remained in office since then in spite of the speculations.
The decision to relieve Chigbue of her job as the head of the nation’s privatisation implementation agency may not be unconnected with the Transactions sealed at the twilight of the administration of Obasanjo which were thought to be fraught with anomalies.
The Sales were believed not to have gone through the due process, a mantra of the privatisation process.
A source told THISDAY that “the President took the decision to sack Chigbue because of some shocking revelations which made him lose Confidence in her. He was not happy at All with the way the Transactions were concluded.”
An emergency meeting of the Economic Team was said to have been held yesterday where issues on the economy were discussed.
Because of the Development , Chigbue’s breakfast meeting with Editors scheduled to hold in Lagos this morning has been cancelled.
The Sale of Major State Enterprises was hurriedly concluded by the last administration to the extent that Transactions involving about 30 Nigeria ’s most prized Assets were sealed in one day (May 17, 2007).
The Enterprises included Port Harcourt REFINERY , Kaguna REFINERY , Ajaokuta Steel complex, Egbin Thermal Power Plant, Onigbolo Cement Company , National Arts Theatre, Tafawa Balewa, LPG depots and solid mineral sites across the country, amongst others.
The Sale of these Enterprises was therefore trailed by series of negative criticisms from All quarters.
The Sale of the nation’s two Major refineries was vehemently opposed by the NNPC, the Organised Labour, the National Assembly, amongst others.
This had forced Bluestar Oil Services Limited Consortium owned by Alhaji Aliko Dangote, Mr. Femi Otedola, Transcorp and Rivers State Government , to vacate its interests in the two refineries, even though, 24 hours prior to the pull-out, BPE had stoutly defended the two Transactions when a delegation of the United States Department of Energy came calling on it.
The BPE had during the visit stated that due process was observed in the Sale of the refineries.
Only recently, the Presidency ordered the re-evaluation of some of sold Enterprises to clear the Air on the heated controversies that greeted them.
Top on the list of the affected Companies were Ajaokuta Steel Complex, Delta Steel Limited , Nigerian Iron Ore Mining Company (NIOMCO), Eleme Petrochemical and Aluminium Smelter Company (ALSCON).
The revaluation, according to sources, was to correct some anomalies noticed in the implementation of the programme and such was prompted by petitions by BPE officials to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) over the implementation of the privatisation programme to date.
Top Government functionaries in key Agencies of Government were said to have been invited by the NIA in the early days of Yar’Adua’s administration to give account of their stewardship in their respective Agencies between 1999 and May 2007.
Their statements have since become the working instruments of this New administration as well as basis for Government actions