The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the state of refineries in the country has invited the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, Mele Kyari; the Governor of Central Bank (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, to appear before the lawmakers on Thursday, March 31 to give account of the true state of the refineries and what is needed to be done to function at maximum refining capacity.

The committee also extended the invitation to other relevant key government stakeholders including the Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation, Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC), the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

The Speaker of the House, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, had on January 2022, constituted the ad hoc committee to determine the state of the refineries in the country and what is needed to bring them back to maximum refining capacity.

The committee was mandated to work with NNPC, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and other relevant stakeholders to obtain the needed information in order to carry out the assignment.

The committee therefore, on 24th February, 2022 requested the GMD of the NNPC for a Status Report on the nation’s refineries. The lawmakers specifically requested the GMD to provide “Appraisal of the current state of refineries in the country: from year 2012 to date, copies of annual budgets on rehabilitation by the refineries from year 2012 to date, list of approvals/fund releases for rehabilitation of refineries from year 2012 to date, last of all contracts awarded for rehabilitation of refineries and award letters issued to service providers and contractors from year 2012 to date, actual cost of projects (contracts) and review (if any) stated in naira, work completion certificates issued on rehabilitation projects carried out on refineries from year 2012 to date, evidence of payments made for all such contracts awarded from year 2012 to date, list of service providers and contractors that handled the rehabilitation of refineries from year 2012 to date and any other relevant information to assist the committee in the course of this assignment.”

The lawmakers, while appreciating the response of the NNPC to their request and acknowledging receipt of their submissions and information so far provided, however pointed out that the submission made by the NNPC did not adequately provide answers to most of the request made to them by the letter.

So in the second letter to the GMD dated 17 March 2022 inviting him to the interactive session, the committee specifically requested for “Copies of approved budget documents on rehabilitation by the refineries: Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC); Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC) and Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC)) from year 2012 to date; evidence of approvals for rehabilitation of the refineries from year 2012 to date; evidence of fund releases for rehabilitation of the refineries from year 2012 to date; copies of all contracts awarded for rehabilitation of refineries and award letters issued to service providers and contractors from year 2012 to date; copies of work completion certificates issued on rehabilitation projects carried out on refineries from year 2012 to date; evidence of payments made for all such contracts awarded from year 2012 to date; what is needed to bring the refineries back to maximum refining capacity and any other relevant information to assist the committee in the course of this assignment.”

At the hearing Thursday, the Chairman of the ad hoc Committee, Hon. Johnson Ganiyu, said the summons became necessary following the failure of the ministers and the other invited government officials to honour earlier invitation.

He said Nigerians are pained and not happy with the current state of affairs regarding the oil sector of the economy, hence subsidy is no longer sustainable and ways must be sought to develop the country’s refining capacity to satisfy daily local consumption needs.

Meanwhile, the House suspended plenary Thursday and adjourned to next week Tuesday.
The lawmakers weren’t able to address most business of the day as contained in the order paper because the presiding officers, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and Hon. Idris Wase had an important security meeting to attend.

Gbajabiamila made this known at the commencement of plenary. (THISDAY)

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