TheCable

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says it will soon replace the officials it disengaged over 130 million litres of petrol that could not be accounted for.

According to NAN, a high ranking source in the ministry, who did not wish to be named, made the confirmation on Thursday in Abuja.

“The committee which submitted its report recommended their disengagement,” the agency quoted its source as saying.

On March 17, Henry Ikem-Obih, a chief operating officer (downstream) in NNPC, had revealed that about 130 million litres stored at the Capital Oil & Gas depot and over 30 million litres in MRS Limited depot, all in the Apapa area of Lagos, were not found when needed.

Ikem-Obih had said the infraction by the two downstream companies was a clear violation of existing contract which prohibited the firms from tampering with the volumes in their custody without express permission of the corporation.

He said the companies were called to explain and given two options to either return the full volume of what was stored in their depots or pay the full value of the products taken without approval.

He had also mentioned that NNPC alerted the Directorate of State Service (DSS), the Economic Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and relevant committees of national assembly with oversight function on the corporation’s downstream operation to help recover the assets.

The officials were reported to have been sacked and later advised to resign, but are now officially disengaged from the services of the corporation.