NNPC Towers

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on Thursday confirmed the disengagement of officials linked to missing 130 million litres of petrol.

A high-ranking source in the ministry, who did not wish to be named, made the confirmation to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.

The source said: ”a committee has submitted its report and NNPC has recommended their disengagement”.

The officials were linked to the missing petrol stored at private depots through a throughput arrangement.

This magazine however gathered that the sack of the officials followed a unanimous voted by the board of the NNPC to retire the officials.

Those asked to go, include the Managing Director of the NNPC Retail, Esther Nnamdi-Ogbue, and three others  indicted by a panel set up to investigate the diversion of petroleum products scandal involving Capital Oil & Gas Nigeria Limited owned by businessman, Ifeanyi Ubah.

NAN recalls that Mr Henry Ikem-Obih, a Chief Operating Officer (Downstream) in NNPC, had on March 17, revealed that about 130 million litres stored at the Capital Oil & Gas depot and over 30 million litres in MRS Limited depot, all in Apapa area of Lagos, were not found when needed.

Ikem-Obih had said the infraction by the two downstream companies was a clear violation of existing contract which prohibited the firms from tampering with the volumes in their custody without express permission of the corporation.

He said the companies were called to explain and given two options to either return the full volume of what was stored in their depots litre-for-litre or pay the full value of the products taken without approval.

He had also mentioned that NNPC alerted the Directorate of State Service (DSS), the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and relevant committees of National Assembly with oversight function on the corporation’s downstream operation to help recover the assets.

The officials were reported to have been sacked and later advised to resign, but are now officially disengaged from the services of the corporation. (NAN)