Reps summon NNPCL, oil companies over environmental crisis

A joint committee of the House of Representatives has summoned the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to appear before it on May 8 over a probe into environmental degradation caused by the activities of oil companies in oil producing communities in the country.

The summon was issued Wednesday by the chairman of the House Committee on Environment, Pondi Julius Gbabojor, at an investigative hearing on the need to investigate the service and unprecedented environmental damage within the communities on Wednesday.

Also to appear before the joint committees comprising Environment, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and Climate Change are the chief executives of some oil companies and other relevant government agencies.

Besides the NNPCL, other oil companies summoned include Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Total Energies, Oando Oil Limited, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Seplat Energy among others.

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Among government agencies summoned include Nigeria Midstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, National Oil Spill Detection Response Agency and National Environmental Standards Regulations and Enforcement Agency.

Rep Gbabojor said the matter to be addressed was critical and warned that the committee would invoke appropriate sanctions if those invited fail to turn up.

Daily Trust reports that only four out of 35 oil companies and agencies invited for the probe showed up at the commencement of the investigative hearing on Wednesday.

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, in his opening remarks earlier said it was important to protect the environment.

Abbas who was represented by the Deputy Minority Whip, George Ozodinobi, said, “I fully recognise the immense responsibility which befalls us as public servants to protect and safeguard our environment and meet the challenges posed by the ravages of environmental damages, and the need to balance economic prosperity and social responsibility to ultimately achieve equitable development.

“Also as representatives of the people, we must ensure that the voices of those most affected by environmental damage are heard and respected. We have to listen to the fears that are faced by frontline communities, indigenous people, and marginalized groups who usually bear the brunt of environmental injustice.

“It is therefore, for this reason that the House mandated the Committees on Environment, Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Petroleum Resources (Downstream), and Climate Change, to investigate the environmental damage in oil producing communities caused by non-compliance to extant laws by oil producing companies,” he said.