Osinbajo meets Kachikwu, Baru at Aso Rock

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo yesterday met with the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Maikanti Baru.

The closed-door meeting, which held at Vice President’s wing of the Aso Rock Presidential Villa in Abuja, lasted over one hour.

When asked by State House reporters whether the perceived crisis sparked by Kachikwu’s recent memo to President Muhammadu Buhari was discussed, Baru repeatedly responded: “There are no crises.”

Kachikwu said issues about oil fields as well as opening of escrow accounts and cash call were discussed.

“It’s a meeting on upstream, a normal typical meeting. It was largely AGIP bringing some information to the vice president on where they’ve been in terms of Okpai, in terms of Zabazaba Deep water oilfield, in terms of the cash call exit which they’re doing with NNPC.

“It was basically updating him, asking for areas where they need some assistance from government officials to sort of fasttrack. It was normal upstream meeting,” the minister said.

On the extent to which the issue of cash call was discussed, he said: “Yes, we did only to the extent that a few completion items on NNPC, largely the opening up of the escrow accounts and that type of stuff which they need to fasten up on. But we’re far gone on that. Instalment payments are already going on, I think NNPC is undertaking by October or early next month to complete that whole process. So, it’s going on very well.”