The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on the State of Refineries says she is billed to invite top Federal Government officials, regulators, marketers, workers’ unions, oil companies, and other stakeholders in the petroleum sector in its investigation of the inability of the country to refine its crude oil.
Meanwhile reliable sources in the committee, said persons that have been penciled down to appear before the committee include: the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN); and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva.
Also on the list are the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris; Auditor-General of the Federation, Adolphus Aghughu; and the Director-General, Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.
Howevevr Oofficials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited, Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited, Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited, Dangote Refinery, and all licensed modular refineries, among others, will also appear before the panel.
It would be recalled that the committee had kickstarted an investigation of the current state of the country’s four refineries and the amounts spent on the ‘Turn-Around Maintenance’ of the national assets.
Meanwhile, the Chairman of the committee, Ganiyu Johnson, after the inauguration of the panel on February 3, 2022, had disclosed that stakeholders in the petroleum sector in both the public and private sectors would soon begin to appear before the lawmakers.
The House had on January 27, 2022, adopted two motions to institutionalise an earlier order by the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, for an investigation of the current state of Nigeria’s four refineries and the actual volume of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, being consumed by the country daily.
