(Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, ABUJA)
President Muhammadu Buhari has relieved Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu as Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), replacing him with Dr. Maikanti Kacalla Baru.
He remains the Minister of State Ministry of Petroleum and will chair the board.
He was appointed NNPC boss in August 2015 and appointed minister in November 2015.
The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement said the President also approved the composition of the Board of NNPC, as provided for under Section 1(2) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Act of 1997, as amended.
Other members of the board are the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mallam Abba Kyari, Dr. Thomas M.A John, Dr. Pius O. Akinyelure, Dr. Tajuddeen Umar, Mallam Mohammed Lawal, and Mallam Yusuf Lawal.
President Buhari urged the new board to ensure the successful delivery of the mandate of the NNPC, ” and serve the nation by upholding the public trust placed on them in managing this critical national asset.”