The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere has expressed concern over the failure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to provide the Committee with adequate information on the rehabilitation, revival and operations of Nigeria’s state-owned refineries.
Ugochinyere who was speaking when He received Petroleum Engineering students from North Central Zone said the Committee had not received any briefing, documents or relevant information from the NNPCL concerning the state of its downstream operations, particularly the rehabilitation and revival of the refineries.
He disclosed that the Committee had not gotten any briefing from the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of NNPCL Bashir Bayo Ojulari and Executive Vice President (EVP) that would enable lawmakers to properly perform their oversight responsibilities. He said no substantive response or documentation had been provided.
“As a Committee, we have not gotten any briefing or information. In short, we wrote the NNPCL, both the GCEO and the EVP, and not even a single document or information has been provided to update us on how the state-owned oil company’s operations in the downstream sector, especially the refineries, are going,” he said
The Committee Chairman said the House had deliberately sought to establish a constructive and harmonious working relationship with the NNPCL in the interest of Nigerians, stressing that effective oversight should be based on cooperation, transparency and accountability.
“We, as a Committee, have extended a hand of partnership and working relationship, but it appears the operators feel that the people who own these assets do not deserve to know what is happening with them.”
He warned that the continued failure of the NNPCL to engage with the Committee could leave lawmakers with no option but to invoke the constitutional and parliamentary powers available to them to obtain the information required.
According to him, the Committee’s objective is not to create unnecessary friction with the national oil company, but to ensure that Nigerians receive clear answers on the management of public assets and the progress of refinery rehabilitation.
“We are being left with the option of invoking the necessary parliamentary powers to get them to be accountable to the people, since they do not seem to like engagement that is harmonious and constructive.”
Ugochinyere maintained that the Committee would continue to exercise its oversight mandate in the national interest and would insist on transparency regarding the operations of the downstream petroleum sector, particularly the status of the nation’s refineries.