President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday fired the newly-appointed managing director of the country’s state oil firm and ordered an audit of its accounts by a world-class firm, his office said.
Shehu Ladan, who was appointed Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) managing director on April 6, was replaced by Austin Oniwon, the firm’s executive director in charge of refineries and petrochemicals, presidential spokesman Ima Niboro said in an official statement.
Crude is the main foreign exchange earner in the world’s eighth oil exporter.
Although no official reason was given for the sacking of Ladan, the president has ordered that a “comprehensive audit” of NNPC’s accounts be carried out by a world-class auditing firm, it said.
“The finance minister is to engage the services of a world-class auditing firm to carry out the audit,” it said.
Ladan had in April replaced Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, who was in office for just over a year.
Jonathan, who has promised to reform the oil sector, has recently sacked other top officials in the NNPC and re-assigned some others.
Nigeria is proposing a law aimed at sweeping reforms in the oil and gas sector.
Its supporters say the law, still before parliament for approval, will specifically transform the corruption-ridden, loss-making and inefficient NNPC into a purely commercial outfit.