The Nigerian Senate Ad-hoc committee on petroleum on Thursday vowed to unravel the roots of economic sabotage in Nigerian petroleum industry.
Indeed, the committee said it will make necessary recommendations that will entrench global best practices in the industry and open it up for more investments, especially in the midstream and downstream sectors.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Opeyemi Michael Bamidele, who spoke at a press conference held on Thursday in Abuja said the 15-man committee will take the task seriously with a view to addressing fundamental issues that pose grave threats to economic prosperity, fiscal stability and public health as a federation and in line with its mandate.
Senator Bamidele, who is the Senate leader said the creation of the Ad-Hoc Committee became overwhelmingly necessary after an extensive debate on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, July 3, 2024, following a motion on Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Petroleum Industry sponsored by Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (Cross River South) with a clear mandate.
He said the terms of reference of the Ad-Hoc Committee include; to
examine 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.
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 and 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.
Others include to 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.
Additionally, to 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; investigate 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).
He said the public hearing will be held as from September 10th – 12th, 2024, but emphasised that “Committee is not meant to witch hunt any individual or group of people, or corporation, but rather to find a lasting solution for our collective mutual gains”.
The committee however warned anyone who disregard its summon to be ready for sanction. “To this regard, the Ad-Hoc Committee seeks the cooperation of stakeholders in order not to jeopardize the good intention of the Senate” Bamidele added.
