State-run oil firm rejects graft claims

Nigeria's state-run oil firm has hit back at claims of corruption from a senior government Minister that have put President Muhammadu Buhari's war on graft in the spotlight. As previously reported in Legalbrief Today, State Oil Minister Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu accused the MD of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Maikanti Baru, of awarding contracts worth more than $26bn without due process. However, the corporation said the allegations are 'baseless'. A report on The Citizen site notes that NNPC group general manager Ndu Ughamadu said 'a review or discussion with the Minister (Kachikwu) or the NNPC board on contractual matters' was not required. The row has once again mired the NNPC in controversy, just as the government is trying to overhaul its reputation as a company with murky finances.