A Reps panel threatens oil companies with sanctions over $60bn cash calls, highlighting the importance of adherence to financial obligations
On Saturday, the Joint Committee on Finance and Petroleum Resources (Upstream) of The House of Representatives made a commitment to take strict measures against oil companies that do not cooperate in the ongoing inquiry into Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s Joint Venture Agreements’ $60 billion excessive cash calls loss.
It should be recalled that last week, the joint committee led by James Faleke as Chairman of Finance and Alhassan Ado-Doguwa overseeing Petroleum Resources expressed dissatisfaction over the non-appearance of top executives from entities scheduled for examination during the hearings.
The article criticized the few presenters who attended and cautioned against companies that sent representatives instead of their higher-ranking officers.
Ado-Doguwa, the Co-Chairman of the committee, expressed dissatisfaction with the uncooperative behavior displayed by invited companies. He warned that any attempt to undermine parliament’s constitutional authority would not be tolerated.
The media team of the committee released a statement on Sunday, quoting Ado-Doguwa as expressing disapproval towards those who did not attend despite receiving an invitation. According to him, this behavior is unacceptable given the significance of the committee’s work and the number of organizations invited.
Any person or entity that chooses to overlook the proceedings of this parliament should be aware that our committee will not tolerate any attempt to undermine the constitutional authority of this crucial inquiry into Nigeria’s public finances.
All members of the committee and I are in agreement that we must take action to ensure that invited individuals attend. If they choose not to show up, we will utilize legal means at our disposal to make sure their presence is compelled.
Part of the statement states that we would not disregard the insensitive actions or inactions by some government agencies, particularly regarding significant resources that could have improved Nigerians’ lives and livelihoods.
Having stated that, the legislator instructed the committee clerk to scrutinize the records and pinpoint firms who neglected their invitations without a valid explanation, promising that appropriate measures would be implemented.
Total Exploration, Shell Petroleum, Agip, Chevron, Oando, Mobil, Pan Ocean , Erotton and Belema are among the companies and agencies under investigation. Additionally First Exploration as well as New Cross Exploration have also been named in this probe.
Seplat Petroleum, Amini International Petroleum, West Africa Exploration and Production Limited, Walter Smith Petroleum Limited, ND Western Limited, Sahara Energy Limited First Hydrocarbon NigeriaLimited Neconde EnergyLimited Elcrest Exploration and ProductionLtd.,and Shoreline Natural ResourcesLimited are amongst the other companies.
