The House of Representatives, on Thursday, agreed to probe the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited over the alleged diversion and conversion of N20 billion by its officials to payment of consultants.
Despite the NNPCL denying the allegation earlier on Monday, the House has set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate the amount.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the state oil corporation was established on April 1, 1977.
NNPC Ltd was incorporated in September 2021 further to the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 (the PIA) which provides for the incorporation by the Minister of Petroleum Resources of a limited liability company under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (the CAMA) to take ownership of the operations of the NNPC.
The Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency, Hafis Kawu, had moved a motion of urgent public importance, urging the chamber to probe into the alleged crime.
Moving the motion titled ‘Urgent Need to Investigate the Conversion of N20 Billion by Staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation(sic),’ Kawu partly said, “The House is informed that staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation are reported to have diverted the over N20bn in the guise of consultancy fees paid to its consultants.”
Kawu stated that the alleged action by the NNPCL officials breached Section 88(1) and (2) of the 1999 Constitution, which, among other things, makes it compulsory for the National Assembly to appropriate public funds before they are expended.
The lawmaker also stating that the funds should have been spent on public needs called for an urgent investigation of the matter and that the House should be briefed on the outcome as a matter of urgency.
The resolutions followed the unanimous adoption of a motion of urgent public importance moved by a member of the House, Unyime Idem, who is also a member of the Peoples Democratic Party from Akwa Ibom State.
The motion was entitled ‘An Urgent Call to the Niger Delta Development Commission to Put on Hold the Release of N15 Billion Requested as Counterpart Funding of Humanitarian Intervention by the Federal Government.’
Idem, while moving the motion, noted that the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs was inaugurated by the Presidency to attend to intervention and humanitarian needs of the Niger Delta region of the country and to promote the physical development of the area.
The lawmaker also noted that since its inauguration, the ministry had executed “fundamental and important” humanitarian intervention projects across the region.
According to him, part of the funds available for use by the NDDC is money recovered on its behalf by EFCC and given back to the Commission to ease the implementation of its financial obligations.
He said, “The House is cognisant that the Federal Government sent a special request mandating the Ministry of Niger Delta to jointly finance an intervention and humanitarian programme of sums running into several billions of naira, using the money recovered by the EFCC without budgetary provision.
“The House is also cognisant that the NDDC budget estimates for 2021, 2022 and 2023 are before the House for legislative approval.
“The House is worried that such request for intervention and humanitarian proposals by the Federal Government without requisite financial appropriation and approval by this honourable House is illegal and a breach of the Appropriation Act.”
