Kachikwu pressured to appoint retiring officer as PEF boss

Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum, Mr. Ibe kachukwu, is believed to be under pressure from some officials of the oil industry to appoint acting Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Equalization (Management) Fund, PEF, Alhaji Ahmed Bobboi, as the substantive Executive Secretary of the government firm established in 1973.

Bobboi’s emergence as acting Executive Secretary has been riddled with controversies as he was said to have been appointed single-handedly by the former Executive Secretary of the PEF, Hajia Asmau Asabe Ahmed, who was sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari, earlier this year.

Before his appointment, Bobboi was said to be third in the hierarchy of the fund.

This pressure is said to be championed by Aminu Ahmed, the chairman of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, Bobboi and one other person, the legal officer, whose name was simply given as Laido.

Ahmed, it was learnt, is currently in the National Industrial court Abuja where he was dragged to by some members of the union kicking against an extension to his tenure by the national leadership of the union.

The trio of Boboi, Laido and Ahmed have been tagged by some staff as the Adamawa tripod.

Now, the grouse is that Bobboi will clock 60 years by the end of 2016 and should be preparing for retirement.

It was gathered that morale is currently at its lowest ebb in the government agency as Boboi continues to pursue his dream of becoming the substantive head of the PEF.

Sources within the government agency say part of the plot to hoodwink Kachikwu is an industrial disharmony in PEF which will hamper effective distribution of premium motor spirit to the general public who have been left with the short end of the stick for months now.

If Boboi is confirmed, he will be the second in tow from the North-eastern Adamawa state in particular while the South-south and the South-east who have more qualified candidates in the agency, according to the staff.

Kachuwu’s alleged sin is that he allegedly forced the employment of his associates into PEF without due process.

But aggrieved staff also alleged that the same Aminu who heads PENGASSAN was employed without due process and without finishing the mandatory National Youth Service Corps scheme, a major prerequisite for Nigerian graduates who want to work in government establishments.

“Using his connections, he also did not wait to be confirmed as a PEF staff nor allow the mandatory two years in service as enshrined in the civil service condition of service, and condition of service of PEF and other government agencies before he was allowed to go on his study leave for a Master’s programme abroad,” a staff said.

It was learnt that during a recent visit by the Minister to PEF, Ahmed asked Kachikwu to ensure that the acting Bobboi be made substantive Executive Secretary of PEF or there would be grave consequences.

He asked the minister to make available funds for the training of union executive as is the norm in International Oil Companies.

Bobboi and Ahmed could not be reached for comments over this allegations at the time of filing this report.