In a surprise move, President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday removed the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mallam Shehu Ladan. Ladan, who was appointed into office on April 6, 2010 was immediately replaced with Mr Austen Olusegun Oniwon, Executive Director (GED) Refining and Petro-Chemicals and also the most senior GED.
While no reason was given for his sudden removal, President Jonathan, however, ordered a comprehensive audit of the NNPC. The finance minister, Olusegun Aganga is to engage the services of a world class auditing firm to carry out the audit.
The decision to appoint Ladan came on the heels of the reconstitution of the Executive Council of the Federation (EXCOF) and was aimed at giving the organisation a new lease of life and a room for its transformation.
NNPC had come under intense pressure from stakeholders especially the state governors who had been fighting to stop the leakages in the finances of the organization, which they contended had reduced the states’ share from the federation account allocations.
Only recently, the National Assembly had threatened to invoke its powers to summon the NNPC GMD for allegedly refusing to honour the lawmakers’ invitations to answer some questions on the expenditure profile of the organisation.
Ladan who hails from Kaduna State succeded Sanusi Barkindo from Adamawa State who had also come under intense pressure over the manner he had managed the affairs of the organisation.
Ladan retired from NNPC on April 6, 2009, as GED, Commercial and Investment. He was also former deputy managing director of Nigeria LNG, executive director of NETCO as well as NPDC, both subsidiaries of NNPC.
Daily Sun, however, gathered that Ladan's exit from the NNPC had nothing to do with the probe of the corporation as he only quit to take the job of Kaduna State deputy governor, which became vacant following the nomination of Governor Namadi Sambo as vice president.
Ladan, according to sources, would be named deputy governor anytime this week as power brokers were said to have positioned him for rulership of the state.
It was further gathered Mallam Ladan would run as the Kaduna State Governor in 2011 despite concerns from the people of the southern part of the state.
Ladan had also earlier nursed the ambition of running for the Kaduna Central Senatorial seat in 2011 before Governor Sambo reportedly prevailed on him to drop the ambition for the NNPC job.
Born on April 1, 1951, Oniwon who replaced Ladan as NNPC GMD hails from Okene in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. He started his working career with the NNPC in 1977 and rose to become Head, Planning of the Warri Refining and Petrochemicals Company in 1987. From 1988 to 1991 he was the Technical Assistant to the GED, Downstream and later Head, Engineering and Technical Services Department (ETSD) of Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company from 1991-1992. That same year Oniwon was made Head, New Business Development, Corporate Planning and Development Division a post he held until his appointment as Head, ETSD at the Port Harcourt Refinery from 1993-1999.
From 1999-2000 Oniwon held forte as General Manager, Information System, Engineering and Technology Directorate before moving on to function as Senior Technical Assistant to the GMD and GM, Information Systems Department at the GMD’s office. Months later he was made the Managing Director of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, a subsidiary of the NNPC before moving on to the Eleme Petrochemicals Company Limited as MD between 2003- 2009.
A fellow of the Nigerian Society of Chemical Engineers, FNSChE, Oniwon holds a BSc (Hons) in Chemistry from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He also holds a Diploma in Business Management from the prestigious Harvard University, USA and Diploma Petroleum Management from Oxford University, UK. He is married with children.
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