Economic Confidential

On assumption of office by the middle of this year, Engr. Andrew Yakubu told Nigerians that the cash cow under his watch will assiduously seek to reinforce the tenets of accountability and transparency in line with the transformation agenda of the present administration.

Born on September 10, 1955 in Unguwar Wakili, Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, the current Group Managing Director of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Andrew Laah Yakubu attended Baptist primary schools in Kaduna and Keffi where he obtained his First School Leaving Certificate in 1968.

Between 1969 and 1973, Yakubu was a student at the Government College, Keffi, where he obtained his West African School Certificate in June, 1973. That same year, he got admission into the College of Arts and Science, Zaria, for the two year Interim Joint Matriculation Board programme. He later attended the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where he obtained a B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering in 1979.

The young engineer joined the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1980 as pioneer Plant/Chief Operator and Refinery Superintendent, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company, (KRPC) where he served until 1989 when he was posted to WRPC as Superintendent Officer in charge of the Fuel Plant.

From October 2001 when he was appointed Manager, JV Oil Facilities, NAPIMS, the progressive NNPC boss has been on the steady move to the top position, clinching such offices as: Executive Director, Operations, Nigerian Gas Company; Executive Director, Operations, NETCO; General Manager, Engineering & Technical Services, CHQs; Managing Director, Warri Refining & Petrochemical Company Limited and Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production before being announced as Group Managing Director NNPC in June 2012.

The Economic Confidential gathered that it was while Engr. Yakubu in charge of exploration and production that Nigeria’s achieved the target of daily production of 2.4 million barrels crude per day in 2011 despite arduous security and financial challenges. Apart from completing the divestment processes and assignment of equity to the Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) for growth, he completed state-of-the-art Seismic Processing Centre in Port Harcourt by the Integrated Data Services Limited, a subsidiary of the NNPC. He was also behind the restoration of operation of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, (WRPC) after a two-year shutdown.

Wherever he found himself, the Group Managing Director of NPC strives to set the standard. For instance, Yakubu led the NNPC/DPR team that produced the first Strategic Studies of Gas Utilisation Projects for the Nigerian government and turned the National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), which had gone comatose to a commercially viable entity in 2006.

In terms of capacity building, Engr. Yakubu has attended a handful of management development programmes at home and abroad, which include a certificate in Strategy and Organisation from the Graduate School of Business Studies, Stanford University; International Petroleum Development Course by IHRD Boston, USA; Institute for Management Development (IMD), Lusan, Switzerland; World Economic Congress, Washington DC; International Gas Technology Conference, Vienna, among others.

As a chartered Engineer, he is a Fellow, Nigerian Society of Chem. Engineers; Fellow, Nigerian Society of engineers; Member, American society for Chemical Engineers and Foundation Member, Nigeria Gas Association.

As a committed and dedicated professional, Engineer Yakubu has received numerous recognitions, which include: NNPC Group Managing Director’s Award for outstanding performance, 1987; Nig. Society of Chem. Engineer’s 1997 Presidential Merit Award for actualising the Escravos Gas Project; Commendation by GMD, NNPC for excellent performance in 1995 and; Commendation by GGM, NAPIMS for cost saving on Obite Gas Project NNPC in 1998.


His hobbies including playing Golf and Chess