Buhari dissolves NNPC board

President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the immediate dissolution of the board of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

The decision was conveyed in a letter, dated June 26, 2015, signed by the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Danladi Kifasi.

The letter quoted President Buhari as thanking members of the dissolved board for their services to the nation.

The NNPC is the state-run oil company which oversees Nigeria’s oil and gas industry. It’s board is statutorily headed by the minister of petroleum resources.

The corporation regulates the oil and gas sector, and also operates as a joint venture partner representing the government in deals with oil multinationals.

The NNPC has in recent years been accused of large scale corruption, the latest being the alleged disappearance of $20 billion oil money.

An independent audit ordered by the Nigerian government in 2014 concluded that the corporation has an outstanding $1.48 billion to pay to the government.

The NNPC has yet to make the payment several months after the release of the audit report.