Babatunde Solanke
The Nigeria Senate,Thursday commenced probe of the petroleum sector beaming searchlight on key industry stakeholders including Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, Dangote Group, International Oil Companies, IOCs, the Ministries of Finance, Trade and Investment, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Nigeria Customs Service and Nigeria Navy.
Nigeria Ports Authority,NPA, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, Capital Oil, OBAT oil, Modular Refineries, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN and Matrix Energy Depot among others, are also under the searchlight of the senators.
The legislative searchlight followed the alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum industry including the recent accusations and counter accusations of importation of toxic petroleum products into the country.
The ad-hoc committee led by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele is examining the pre-shipment and pre-discharge standard test parameters adopted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority with a view to uncovering loopholes, if any, being exploited to get toxic cargoes into the country.
“Our investigation seeks to identify and hold accountable parties involved in the importation and distribution of the adulterated Petroleum Products (PMS and AGO). This includes suppliers, importers, regulatory bodies, and any other entities that may have contributed to this serious lapse in quality control.
“We will conduct a thorough review of current regulatory frameworks and procedures to identify deficiencies and recommend necessary reforms to prevent such occurrences in the future. The Committee is committed to ensuring the highest standards of fuel quality for the Nigerian market,” said Opeyemi.
It will also determine the level of compliance of the NNPCL’s Direct Sale and Direct Purchase (DSP) arrangements in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, including the extent of transparency and accountability in the scheme.
Speaking to journalists,Opeyemi said the committee is determined to beam legislative searchlight on the activities of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), including payments made to transporters in the last 10 years.
“Enquire from the NNPCL the state/status of the 22 depots built by the defunct NNPC to eliminate road distribution of petroleum products.
“Engage with stakeholders within the oil and gas industry with a view to identifying possible gaps in regulating and strengthening the surveillance and monitoring structures in place to enable Nigeria to detect violations of best practice standards in the importation of products before they enter into the domestic supply chains.
“Also engage with the NNPCL with a view to understanding the extent of its determination and timelines for the start-up of government-funded oil refineries,” he said.
The committee is also investigating how institutions across the importation and distribution chain failed to conduct quality sampling, shipped in products without auditing, and performed port validations by the Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Standards Organization of Nigeria (SON); and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA): and such other consequential amendments and as such the Committee deems fit.
The Senate leader said members of the Ad-Hoc Committee have met on several occasions to determine the best ways to achieve its mandate, and collectively resolved to sacrifice a portion of their recess period to carry on with the assignment devoid of bias in the overall national and public interest.
“We are all aware that the Petroleum industry has been on the front burner of public discourse since the creation of this Ad-Hoc Committee, as regulators and industry players continue to make one accusation or the other on various issues relating to the general operations of the Petroleum Industry. Hence, the need for this press conference to educate the general public on the mandates, workings, and of course the modalities adopted by the Ad-Hoc Committee to carry out this assignment.
“In the course of interactions with the identified stakeholders, the Ad-Hoc Committee will visit any of their facilities that it deems necessary, especially the state-owned refineries, to ascertain their status, considering the huge funds already invested in their various Turn Around Maintenances-year in, year out-without any meaningful result.
“The Committee, along with Nigerians, is particularly interested in understanding why local refineries are not working despite the substantial amounts of money spent annually on their maintenance and operations. We will closely examine what the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) has been doing to address this persistent problem,” he said.
