The Federal Government yesterday removed Alhaji Abubakar Lawal Yar'Adua, the Acting Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), from office as well as the corporation's Special Coordinator in charge of Corporate Secretariat and Legal Division (CSLD), Chief Sena Anthony.

Mr. Mohammed Barkindo has been appointed as Yar'Adua's replacement while Chief Sena Anthony was replaced with Professor Yinka Omoregbe, Dean of Faculty of Law, University of Ibadan.

Meanwhile, the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Alhaji Hamman Bello Ahmed, has served a notice of retirement from service. It takes immediate effect.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia (SAN), who confirmed the removal of Alhaji Yar'Adua and Chief Anthony from office did not advance reasons for their removal, explaining that he was in a meeting when Vanguard called him on phone.

However, there has been a myriad of complaints regarding the state of affairs at the corporation since Abubakar Yar'Adua was appointed in acting capacity which lasted longer than any other in NNPC's history.

Speaking in an interview with Vanguard last month, Mr. Ajumogobia said there was ambiguity over responsibility between the Minister and the NNPC and investigations revealed that this ambiguity only came to the fore in recent times.

The Minister noted that in recent times, you hear statements from the Corporation that government would build new refineries, adding that this is a policy statement that should not come from the operator.

"It should come from the government itself. I think some of that creates the kind of ambiguity I am talking about in terms of people who are playing in this market. Where do you go for what information?

I think that is very important. Clearly, policy should be driven by the ministry and NNPC should be an operator like any other operator and I think that is what the reforms are trying to do, separate regulation from policy, from operation," he said.

Under Yar'Adua's leadership also, Nigeria's multinational partners in the upstream commenced re-evaluation of the cost of development for outstanding projects in the country owing to the prevailing realities regarding oil prices in the international market.

One of the oil industry operators who spoke with Vanguard at the height of the complaints said the short term outlook for oil prices was low and not encouraging, "especially against the backdrop of the management style of the NNPC/NAPIMS.

"All the projects suspended cannot come onstream anytime before the next five years and these projects are not necessarily delayed due to lack of capacity but because the executioners at the NNPC/NAPIMS are more interested in personal aggrandizement at the expense of the country."

Investigations revealed that under Abubakar Yar'Adua's management, despite claims of outstanding efforts at revamping the refineries and huge expenditure, the corporation's refineries never worked, upstream projects were either put off indefinitely or rescheduled and no new projects were initiated.

Abubakar Yar'Adua joined the NNPC in 1977 and rose through the ranks to become Managing Director of the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemicals Company, Executive Director, Refining and Petrochemicals of the Corporation and later Acting Group Managing Director of the corporation.

Mohammed Bakindo was until his appointment the Corporation's Coordinator in charge of Special Projects and has served the corporation in various capacities, gaining both local and international exposure.

He was, at one-time, the Deputy Managing Director of the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), Nigeria's representative to OPEC and Acting Secretary-General of OPEC.

Chief Sena Anthony was called to the Bar in 1974, spent four years working with the Federal Ministry of Justice, before joining the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1978.

Since joining the Corporation, she has worked as an in-House counsel on various oil and gas projects pertaining to both upstream and the downstream investments in the Petroleum Industry.

Confirming the resignation of the Customs boss, the service Public Relations Officer, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, said Ahmed had served a formal notice of retirement and is currently awaiting directives on who to hand over to.

On who is the most senior officer in the service, Adeniyi said the Minister of Finance would give directive on who to hand over to.