The House of Representatives on Wednesday warned the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation against the consequences of ignoring committee summons.
The House issued the warning in Abuja as its committee opened an investigation into the rising theft of Nigeria’s crude oil.
The minister, the NNPC and its subsidiaries are among 50 agencies the ad-hoc committee, conducting the investigation, said it had summoned to answer questions on the matter.
The Chairman of the committee, Mr. Bahsir Adamu, told journalists that the committee would not condone any act of disrespect by any agency, particularly the NNPC.
“We are very serious with this investigation. We won’t hesitate to compel the NNPC or any agency that tries to take us for a ride. I am not prepared to allow anybody to rubbish my 15 years of experience in this House,” Adamu stated.
He observed that illegal oil bunkering was a technical operation that would not succeed without the collaboration of highly-placed persons in and out of government.
According to Adamu, the aim of the committee is to unmask the faces behind the theft to save Nigeria the loss of billion of dollars worth of crude oil daily.
Adamu spoke further, “The level of oil theft is alarming and of grave concern to stakeholders. The oil and gas industry accounts for about two-third of government’s revenue and more than 90 per cent of export earnings in Nigeria.
“Illegal bunkering has caused Nigeria to lose an estimated $5b (N780bn) yearly, amounting to $400bn since Nigeria’s independence.
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