President Buhari to meet Kachikwu over leaked document, to probe NNPC

– President Buhari is expected to meet with Ibe Kachikwu – The meeting s likely to centre on his leaked memo – There are speculations that the NNPC will be probed President Muhammadu Buhari is expected to meet the minister of state of petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, on Thursday, September 5 over his leaked letter to him. A letter sent to the president by the minister was leaked in which he alleged that $25billion contracts have been wrongly awarded by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director Dr. Maikanti Baru The Nation reports that the meeting between the president and Kachikwu is expected to focus on content of his memo which could instigate the probing of Baru. A source close to the presidency who spoke on the issue said: “The President will have a fact-finding session with Kachikwu on some of the claims in his August 30 memo. The President and cabinet members were shocked by the issues raised by the minister. “This audience is already in the schedule of the President today. Kachikwu will have the opportunity to explain what went wrong in the NNPC and the insubordination of the GMD. “For instance, the issue of lack of access to the President and sidelining him are really strange. Buhari wants to go into the details.” “President Buhari does not condone indiscipline. There is a high probability that some of the allegations were not brought to his notice. “The real questions are: Why did GMD Baru sideline his supervising Minister? How did Baru get approval for the contracts? Could he have misled the government with a cover-up memo? Did anybody or group take advantage of the President’s medical trip? “The Presidency may probe these allegations against Baru”. “The Presidency will certainly not spare the rod and the President is determined to get to the root of the $25billion contracts.” Another government official who spoke on the condition of anonymity expressed shock over the issue especially with the leaked memo. He said: “It is evident that there are some moles in this government. They want to do everything to pull down this administration. “After addressing the key issues, the government will also ask the appropriate agencies to probe the leakage. “If the minister is culpable, he might be sanctioned for alleged violation of his oath of office and oath of allegiance. The days of moles in government are numbered.” Nigerian Senate constituted an ad-hoc committee to investigate alleged corruption in the NNPC. Kachikwu in a letter dated August 30, told the president that the conducts of the NNPC GMD were counterproductive to the country’s petroleum sector.