Major shake-up in NNPC, as Garba replaces Kennie as corporation’s spokesperson
Solomon Ezeme
A major shake up has occurred in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), seeing Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, take over from Dr. Kennie Obateru as the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the Corporation, and Mr. Billy Okoye was appointed as the new Group Executive Director, Ventures & Business Development while Mrs. Aisha Ahmadu-Katagum was promoted to the position of Group Executive Director, Corporate Services.
The decision of the Management of the Corporation to promote and redeploy some staff to fill key vacant positions was contained in a statement released by the Corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr. Kennie Obateru on Monday.
According to the statement, that promotion was part of bid to strengthen and reposition the Corporation towards attaining global excellence and profitability.
Until their new appointments, Mr. Okoye and Mrs. Ahmadu-Katagum were Group General Managers, Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD) and Supply Chain Management Division in the Corporation, respectively.
Engr. Adeyemi Adetunji, formerly Chief Operating Officer, Business & Ventures Development, becomes the Group Executive Director, Downstream, while Mr. Mohammed Abdulkabir Ahmed, formerly Chief Operating Officer, Corporate Services, becomes the Group Executive Director, Gas & Power.
Other Chief Operating Officer positions in the Corporation have now been redesignated as Group Executive Directors (GEDs), in alignment with the rules of Company & Allied Matters Act (CAMA), preparatory to the new status of the Corporation as a Limited Liability Company, post-Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
The repositioning also saw the disengagement of Engr. Yusuf Usman, formerly Chief Operating Officer, Gas & Power.
Speaking on the Development, Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Mallam Mele Kyari, said the new appointments would enable the Corporation live up to the expectations of Nigerians and achieve its vision of becoming a world-class energy company of choice.
