TheCable

A house of representatives committee has summoned Mele Kyari, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, to appear before it to provide details on the volume of petrol consumed in the country. 

The ad hoc committee also summoned Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN); Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, budget and national planning and the permanent secretary of ministry; accountant-general of the federation; managing director of the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC); and Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources and permanent secretary of the ministry.

The committee, set up in January, is investigating the quantity of petrol consumed in the country. 

The panel said the heads of government agencies failed to appear or send representatives during an investigative hearing.

Aniekan Umanah, a member of the committee from Akwa Ibom, asked his colleagues to “invoke” necessary measures to compel the invited public officials to appear before them. 

Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, who was on the ground to declare the event open, said it is “unacceptable” for anybody to shun the invitation of the parliament. 

Represented by Peter Akpatason, deputy majority leader, Gbajabiamila said the refusal of the invitees is aimed at frustrating the committee’s mandate.

“In a situation where stakeholders are given the opportunity to come and participate in a parliamentary investigative hearing and organisations are not serious about it — it is very unacceptable to the parliament,” he said. 

“In fact, it was expected that the critical stakeholders that have been invited here should be represented by their chief executive officers. I hardly can see any chief executives officer here. How much more not sending any representatives. It is a shame, it is not acceptable to the house of representatives.

“I want to make it very clear. It is not acceptable to the parliament that people and organisations that are saddled with the responsibility of managing a critical assignment like the distribution and sold PMS in this country will be reluctant to come here to do their duties.

“So we want to see this attempt by critical stakeholders absent themselves from this investigative hearing as an attempt to frustrate the effort of the committee and the parliament will not take it lightly.”

He asked Abdullahi Ningi, chairman of the committee, to sanction the heads of agencies that failed to appear before the lawmakers. 

The speaker added that the agencies and stakeholders who “conceal” information from the committee would “run into trouble”.