The board of the state owned oil marketing company has demanded for a probe into the affairs at the corporation to ascertain its financial position after allegedly posting a Sh270 million loss for the half year period to December.

Nation could not verify the claims of financial loss as the company does not make its financial statements public.

Details of how long the audit will take remain unknown as neither Nock nor PWC could comment on the issue. Nock's management had until February 15 to come up with an auditor.

Sources within the corporation aware of the goings on who spoke to Nation said that the contract paving way for PWC to start the exercise had not been finalized.

In a telephone interview with the Business Daily on Monday, petroleum principal secretary Andrew Kamau had indicated that the audit process would begin Thursday.

Last month, the board, whose most members joined in May, sent managing director Sumayya Hassan-Athmani on forced leave to pave way for the audit.

At the time, the board accused management of interfering with the audit process. The directors had initially ordered for an audit to be carried out in November last year.

"We felt that for an audit process to take place it was necessary to have the CEO step aside. As soon as the exercise is completed, we will engage her on the way forward," a board member who spoke to Nation on condition of anonymity said.

Ms Hassan was reinstated on Monday, dealing a blow to the board's action and further complicating the entire process as it has already questioned the management's will to carry out the exercise.

Her reinstatement was announced by Deputy President William Ruto in Malindi on Monday where he had gone to drum up support for the Jubilee Alliance Party's candidate Phillip Charo in the upcoming by-elections.