The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu, on Tuesday deplored the leakage to the public of a memo to President Muhammadu Buhari by the ministry.
Kachikwu expressed the displeasure in a statement in Abuja by Mr Idang Alibi, Director, Press Relations, in the ministry.
He said ”the attention of the Ministry of Petroleum Resources has been drawn to a publication on a memo emanating from the ministry.
”Please note the following: the communication under reference is a normal procedural correspondence by the minister to the President relating to developments in parastatals under his supervision.
”It is most distressing to the ministry of petroleum resources that a confidential communication to the President on the performance of one of its parastatals can be made public.
”The focus of the communication was on improving efficiency and deepening transparency in the oil and gas sector for continued investor-confidence.
”It is noteworthy that the President has been fully supportive of the efforts of the ministry to entrench good governance and accountability in the oil and gas sector.
”The ministry of petroleum resources remains focused on achieving measurable progress in the implementation of the ongoing oil sector reforms in line with the mandate of the president.”
The social media had reported that Kachikwu wrote a letter to Buhari complaining of disregard for official processes by Dr Maikanti Baru, Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).