Alleged Economic Sabotage: Senate moves to summon Minister, Dangote, NNPCL, NMDPRA, CBN, others for questioning

*The Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on ‘Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry’ says the 14-member Committee constituted July 23, 2024, will investigate billions of Dollars of taxpayers’ money spent on turnaround maintenance of the four state-owned refineries, to address ‘deep-seated challenges’ confronting the downstream petroleum sector of the country’s economy

Gbenga Kayode | ConsumerConnect

As part of efforts at addressing apparent “deep-seated challenges” confronting the downstream petroleum sector of the economy, the Senate, in the National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, FCT, has stated it will summon the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Dangote Group, and Heineken Lokpobiri, Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum, among others, for questioning over alleged economic sabotage in the country’s petroleum industry.

ConsumerConnect reports Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (Ekiti State), Senate Leader and Chairman of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on “Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry”, disclosed this at a media briefing Thursday, July 25, 2024.

The latest move comes in the wake of the current escalating altercations between Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the NNPC Limited over the alleged inferior standard products from the Dangote Refinery by Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NMDPRA, as well as blending of petroleum products by some top officials of NNPCL in connivance with oil traders somewhere in Malta, an island country in Europe.

Senator Bamidele disclosed that the 14-member Committee constituted July 23 would investigate billions of Dollars of taxpayers’ money spent on turnaround maintenance of the state-owned refineries in the last decade to address deep-seated challenges confronting the industry.

The Upper Legislative Chamber of NASS also noted that a public hearing scheduled for September 10 this year.

The lawmakers stated that the public hearing is expected to have the contractors handling the turnaround maintenance for the said refineries in attendance as the Ad-Hoc Committee prepares to visit Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Warri to engage with key actors in the Nigerian petroleum industry.

Commenting on the decision to summon the key industry stakeholders, some members of the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee on “Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry”, as well vowed to unravel the rot in the sector, declaring that the situation would no longer be business as usual.

According to the Ad-hoc Committee, there would be no room for sacred cows, noting that it is set to issue a warrant of arrest against any head of the government regulatory agency that refuses to honour the invitation for appearance before it.

It is recalled that the leadership of the House of Representatives, amid the raging accusation of substandard petroleum products leveled against Dangote Refinery, also visited the refinery at Ibeju-Lekki, in Lagos State during an inspection tour.

Subsequently, the Federal legislators have resolved to investigate the claims of inferior products from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.

Besides, the Lower Chamber of the NASS called for the suspension of Ahmed, CEO of NMDPRA, otherwise known as ‘The Authority’ for the House described as his “unguarded comments” about the quality of products from Dangote’s.