Alleged sabotage in petroleum sector: Senate postpones public hearing on NNPC, Dangote Refinery, others
Following alleged sabotage in the petroleum industry against the backdrop of fuel scarcity, price hike as well as the lingering controversy on the sales of Dangote Refinery fuel between the company and the NNPCL, the Senate has postponed a public hearing on the alleged sabotage.
The highest law-making body of the country has, however, explained that they postponed the hearing to engage in wider consultations with stakeholders whose input and participation would add value to the conclusion of the investigative hearing.
Some key stakeholders were summoned to appear before the committee at a public hearing scheduled for September 10 to 12, 2024, including the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Ports Authority.
Other outfits summoned include the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, International Oil Companies, Dangote Group, Capital Oil and modular refineries.
The Senate also cited legislative imperatives targeted at deepening due diligence in conducting the probe as another reason for postponing it.
The reasons were given in a statement on Sunday by the Leader of the Senate and Chairman of the Senate Ad-hoc Committee to Investigate Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central).
Bamidele added that the decision to postpone was made in the best interest of the federation and its teeming population.
He said that the ad-hoc committee would communicate a new date for the conduct of the investigative hearing to all the stakeholders in due course.
The Senate had set up the ad hoc committee to probe billions of naira spent on maintaining the nation’s refineries, probe regulatory agencies’ overpayment to transporters and unravel the alleged importation of hazardous petroleum products and dumping of substandard diesel into the country.
The ad-hoc committee had concluded its pre-investigation undertakings and held an interactive session with the heads of Ministries, Departments and Agencies as well as some private interests in the downstream and midstream petroleum sector.
After the exhaustive engagement with select MDAs and private oil firms, the ad-hoc committee subsequently scheduled its investigative hearing for Tuesday, 10th to Thursday, 12th September 2024.
