Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Ibe Kachikwu and
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) boss Dr. Maikanti Baru have been
advised to stop their bitter row over the award of $25b contracts – one week
after it all began.
The
Presidency and the NNPC Board ordered a ceasefire, The Nation learnt
yesterday.
As
the row grew, some observers thought the minister would throw in the towel. But
Dr Kachikwu is believed to have ruled out resignation from the cabinet because
of his “deep respect for President Muhammadu Buhari, who he insisted is a clean
leader”.
Kachikwu,
who was said to have gone to the Presidential Villa with a letter of
resignation last Friday, has shelved the move in the “larger interest of the
nation”.
As part of the peace deal, there are moves to urge the Senate to
have a “second opinion” on its decision to look at the disputed contracts.
Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said he did not sign contracts worth N640billion
while the President was on medical leave.
Some
government officials and NNPC board members have met separately with Kachikwu
and Baru on the need to “reconcile” and save the oil industry from unnecessary
tension.
An
NNPC board source said: “We are now trying to de-escalate the crisis of
confidence between the Minister and the GMD. We do not want tension within the
system again.
“Some
of us have met with the two leaders in the oil industry on the need to
reconcile and sustain the gains in the sector.
“This
is why we do not want Kachikwu either sacked or dropped from the Federal
Executive Council(FEC). The issues raised by both parties can be addressed
without further problem.
“We are hopeful that the crisis is resolvable, going by the
responses of the Minister and the GMD.”
A
cabinet source also claimed that some ministers spoke with both parties to
“arrest the North-South dimension” which the crisis was assuming.
The
source said: “At least about 14 of us in the cabinet were so much touched and
we decided to sue for peace. The way the Minister and the GMD embraced on
Tuesday was an indication of the acceptance of our peace deal.
“We
were concerned that the crisis was being turned away from the real substance to
infantile assumptions as if any fraud was committed.
“At
least, we have secured a commitment to ceasefire by both leaders, who are both
internationally respected. In the last 72 hours, many interventions have
occurred.
“The
leader at the centre of it all is President Muhammadu Buhari who felt personally
hurt and scandalised by the August 30 memo. The President was really very, very
angry.
The
source added: “It was not as if the President refused or decided to delay in
responding to the Minister’s memo until it snowballed into a crisis.
“The
truth is that Kachikwu did not route his memo through the normal official
channel for fear of being hijacked or frustrated. He sent it through a
presidential aide to ensure that the President got the memo.
“Kachikwu
perfectly laid ambush for those denying people access to the President by
beating them to their game. Even after the memo was received by Buhari, he took
steps to address it by sending it to the GMD officially for his response.
As
at press time, there were indications that Kachikwu might have abandoned his
plan to quit the cabinet.
A
source said: “As a matter of fact, Kachikwu had gone to the Villa last Friday
with a letter of resignation but he shelved it because of his deep respect for
President Muhammadu Buhari, who he insisted is a clean leader. He loves Buhari
and the President also gave him much latitude like a son.”
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