Reps receive petition to sack NNPCL VP over federal character violation

Reps

The House of Representatives on Thursday received a petition from an Igbo socio-cultural group, Ezi Umuada Igbo, calling for the removal of Mrs Sophia Mbakwe, Executive Vice President (Business Services) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, over an alleged violation of the federal character principle.

The petition, presented during plenary by the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Ikenga Ugochinyere, alleged that Mbakwe, though occupying a position designated for the South-East geopolitical zone in the NNPCL’s top management structure, is not an indigene of the region.

Addressed to the Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, the petition urged the legislature to investigate the circumstances surrounding her appointment and ensure strict compliance with Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which mandates equitable distribution of federal positions among Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones.

In the petition titled “Appointment of Mrs Sophia Mbakwe as South-East Representative in NNPCL Management Team,” the group expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for recognising an Igbo woman for such a strategic national role. Punch