Senate has warned the Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited, NNPCL, Mele Kyari to tender their letters of resignation if they fail to answer the Senate call to give account of all the rehabilitation expenditure on the refineries in the country, crude oil theft, non remittance of funds to the federation account. They expected to appear next week Tuesday at 2pm. The Senate said that if the GMD fails to appear before it, he should be prepared to send his letter of resignation. Senators also demanded that he should come with all the rehabilitating components of the nation’s refineries, documents on Oil theft, non-remittance of funds to the government coffers, among others, just as the Senate has threatened that if he fails, he would get zero budget. Speaking in Abuja interactive Session of the Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources, Downstream, Upstream and Gas, the Chairman of the Committee, Senator Mohammad Sabo Nakudu, said that the appearance of the GMD before it would give it required information on steps being taken against oil theft, dwindling revenue, dilapidated state of the Nation’s refineries, among others.
Senators at the meeting were not happy that Kyari was absent at the interactive session, but was represented by the Group Executive Director of NNPCL, Adeyemi Adetunji, just as they said that the Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL must appear in person and not through representation and failure to appear, the Senate would institute a Commission of Inquiry on him and the organisation. Speaking at the session, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, who frowned at the non- appearance of the Minister of State, Petroleum and the GMD, said that they must appear before the Committee and failure on the part of the GMD to come, ” we shall institute a Commission of Inquiry on the NNPCL GMD and he must not send a representative and if he fails, he should send in a letter of resignation.”
On his part, Senator Sani Musa, said we are all Nigerians who must be patriotic about the country, and that if we must talk about passion, we must show it in all its ramifications, adding that with the new name and the nomenclature, one would have expected changes in the oil sector.According to him, the country is talking about paying subsidies without knowing those people that are collecting the subsidies.
Earlier in his remarks, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, said, “The GMD said the NNPCL is now a limited liability company and cannot be coming to appear before the parliament. Our own understanding basically, and am saying this for record, is that we needed to grant this autonomy of a corporate status to the NNPC to allow the organisation to favourably compete with similarly situated corporations or companies in the oil and gas industry.
And one of the statuses of the PIA is that the NNPCL is wholly owned by the Federal Government of Nigeria and as far as we are concerned it wasn’t an autonomy that will make you unaccountable to the Federal Republic of Nigeria through the parliament. So, now that you are here sir, I would like that say on record, what is your understanding of that law as it relates with how you relate with the parliament”? On his part, Senator Smart Adeyemi, said, “is it the common man or the poor man on the street that is stealing the crude? Can the man on the street be involved in oil theft without the collaboration of those who know the business, those who are in the industry? Those who control the crude and distribution of the crude? Mr. Chairman, I want to believe that some people are building another nation somewhere when you look at the quantum of money that is being stolen in Nigeria, especially the crude oil. It is just inexplicable. If we want this country to survive let it survive! If we want to break up this country, break up this country to pieces. The theft of crude in Nigeria is enough to destroy this country and break this country to pieces. Mr. Chairman, there is no need to continue with this meeting. I move for an adjournment of this meeting.”
Also speaking, Senator James Manager, said, ” In supporting this particular motion, I have this comment to make. I have my doubts if this company, all-important company, company of all companies, those who are charged with the responsibility of working for Nigerians, they believe there is a parallel subsidy that must be oversighted from A – Z because anything about you, the company itself is a Nigerian company fully owned by Nigerians.
Therefore, when you are invited and you come to this place – Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I have been here for almost 20 years, I have not seen a thing like this. To be led by somebody who is not the person who is in charge. Mr. Chairman, I know I am a co-chairman of this committee, I am the Chairman on Committee on Gas and I do know as a fact that no committee, as a member of the upstream committee, no committee has ever invited this GMD.”
