The Senate and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Wednesday bickeredover a ghost letter allegedly written to the Committee of the Upper Chamber on Finance where NNPCL claimed to be insulated from summons by the parliament.
The Company’s action coincides with the summoning of its Group Managing Director (GMD), Mele Kyari, by the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) on Wednesday.
Chairman of the Upper legislative chamber’s committee on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Adeola (APC Lagos West), had penultimate Wednesday during an interface with Heads of various MDAs accused the oil regulatory giant of writing to the National Assembly, where it boasted to be insulated from legislative scrutiny.
Senator Adeola had cited a purported ghost letter allegedly channeled through the company’s liaison officer in the National Assembly (NASS) that it is now a limited liability company.
At the interface, the finance committee Chairman told the NNPCL General Manager Public Affairs (GMPA) Garbadeen Muhammad that NNPC is 100 percent owned by the Federal government and it can be invited at any time to appear before the lawmakers for any matter deemed fit.
But Garbadeen faulted Adeola’s claims, maintaining that “after the accusation on the purported letter, we carried out a thorough investigation on where such a letter came from and through whose authority but discovered that nothing of such was sent from NNPCL to any committee of the National Assembly .
“We even probed further as regards the authenticity of the letter by taking our liaison officer at the National Assembly to Senator Adeola’ office where the Clerk of the Senate Committee on Finance , changed the narrative from letter to telephone conversation.
“Even at that, we requested for the telephone number of the person who gave such information to the Clerk of the Senate Committee on Finance for required tracking of identity but not given to us.
“The fact of the matter as it is now, is that nobody from NNPCL wrote or called anybody in the National Assembly that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), has insulated us from appearing before relevant committees of the National Assembly.NNPCL is at any time ready to honour any invitation from committees of the National Assembly as regards its operations on Oil and Gas”, he said.
The Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), has summoned the Group General Manager of NNPCL, Mele Kyari to appear before it unfailingly on Tuesday next week by 2pm .
The Committee chaired by Senator Mohammad Sabo Nakudu ( APC Jigawa South West) , said appearance of the GMD before it , will give it required information on steps being taken against oil theft , dwindling revenue , dilapidated state of the Nation’s refineries etc. .