Issues as Senate probes petroleum sector

The Senate has launched investigation into the activities in the petroleum industry to unmask economic saboteurs that have held the country hostage for several years.

There is anxiety as the 15-member ad-hoc committee led by the Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele (APC, Ekiti Central) commenced a probe into the alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum industry.

The panel is investigating the billions of dollars spent on turnaround maintenance of refineries in the last decade with a view to addressing the deep-seated and hydra-headed challenges bedevilling the industry.

It is also examining the pre-shipment, pre-discharge standard test parameters adopted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority with a view to uncovering loopholes being exploited to get toxic cargoes into the country.

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The ad-hoc 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, among many others.

Daily Trust reports that a public hearing is slated for September 10, 2024, while the committee is to visit Warri, Kaduna and Port Harcourt refineries at a yet-to-be announced date to engage key actors.

Chairman of the panel, Senator Bamidele, during a press conference on Thursday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja to mark the commencement of the investigation said there won’t be room for sacred cows.

Bamidele said the committee had resolved to summon the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Trade and Investments to appear before it.

He said the panel was also engaging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON).

Others are the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Modular Refineries, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), National Engineering and Technical Company Ltd (NETCOL) and contractors,  Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, Obat Oil, Matrix Energy Depot, Capital Oil, Dangote Group, International Oil Companies (IOCs) and the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA).

The investigation is coming in the wake of the clash between the Dangote Refinery and Nigeria’s regulatory authorities, which some lawmakers view as economic sabotage.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed, had claimed that local refineries, including the Dangote Refinery, were producing diesel with quality levels between 650 and 1,200 PPM, significantly inferior to imported products.

The statement triggered the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, to mandate the Deputy Speaker, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, to lead a delegation of federal lawmakers to Lagos for assessment of the refinery.

But Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, dispelled the claims by the regulator that petroleum products from his refinery were substandard, when the lawmakers went to the site.

Daily Trust reports that consultations are still ongoing among critical stakeholders to resolve the impasse as the Senator Bamidele-led committee has also hinted of probing into the issue in the course of its assignment if it persisted.

The issues

However, some analysts have expressed worries that there have been several probes that ended in deadlock; without the prosecution of culprits over the years and believe this one will not be an exception.

A political analyst, Chief Jackson Lekan Ojo, told Daily Trust that the probe is another jamboree, stressing that it will be an exercise in futility like the previous exercises.

Ojo said, “Where is the $16 billion power probe report on Obasanjo’s administration? Who was prosecuted? Nobody. What happened to the N81.5 billion NDDC probe? So to me, this is another waste of resources. It’s a diversionary strategy. They will make noise so that we will forget some ongoing problems we are facing in this country. It’s actually a diversionary tactic; nothing will come out of it.

“Which probe of this nature under Obasanjo, Buhari or Jonathan led to prosecution of anyone? You will just hear that they discovered this and that and at the end of the day, nothing happens.

“So it is another jamboree. The citizens have lost confidence. What is the difference between the Tinubu administration and the Buhari government? Are they not the same APC?

“Tinubu said he was going to start from where Buhari stopped. So they will go into the probe but after sometime you won’t hear anything about it again. It’s very unfortunate.”

But reacting to Ojo’s concerns, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), a member of the committee, said the times are different, stressing that the Senator Bamidele led ad-hoc committee would do things differently.

He said, “Times are dynamic. What happened in the previous years must not repeat.”

Another member of the committee, Senator Osita Izunaso (Imo West) said, “Whoever that is involved in economic sabotage must be exposed by this committee.”

Some stakeholders have also said the attitude of top officials or heads of agencies turning down requests by National Assembly committees to appear for questioning is also an issue.

However, a member of the committee, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong (APC, Cross River) told Daily Trust that in the event any person or entity failed to show up, the committee would engage the Inspector General of Police (IGP) for necessary action on the matter.

Some stakeholders have however, raised the issues of reports of findings not being implemented, and failure to expose secret cows in the probe.

Some Nigerians also believe that the probe is a ploy to witch-hunt opposition politicians, some top officials of government or those who are close to the corridors of power, but have opposing views on issues of national interest.

However, another political analyst, Aminu Yakudima, in a telephone interview with Daily Trust said the investigation should be thorough while culprits should be brought to book not on account of witch-hunt.

He warned that the investigation shouldn’t be biased or targeted at witch-hunting some persons but “done with a clean mind” so that whoever is involved is “not spared.”

He said, “We have seen this kind of thing in this country. Anything you do, if sanctions are not applied, the rot in the system will persist and it will keep dragging people back to square one.

“Sometimes you find the investigators being compromised, which is not good at all. And it has been so with most of the oversight functions of the Senate. When they engage, they will be compromised.

“So we hope this will be different and will be motivated by the sincerity of purpose. I hope they will be thorough in handling the situation so that Nigerians will take them seriously.

“I hope it is not going to be a process or investigation that is going to be a witch-hunt. It should be done thoroughly. It is a good step in the right direction.”

While there are skepticisms over the outcome of the probe, some Nigerians, however, believe that with the Senate Leader as chairman of the panel, things would be done differently this time.

Analysts have argued that even in the past, successes were recorded in some areas including the signing of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) into law by President Muhammadu Buhari, after stiff opposition from some governors, lawmakers and other critical stakeholders in the country.