The senate has
resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate the allegations made by
Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum resources, against Maikanti Baru,
group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
In
a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, Kachikwu alleged that Baru
was sidelining him and the NNPC board from important decisions affecting the
corporation.
Kachikwu also accused Baru of
insubordination and of awarding contracts without due process. “The Board of
NNPC which you appointed and, which has met every month since its inauguration
and, which by the statutes of NNPC is meant to review these planned
appointments and postings, was never briefed. Members of the Board learnt of
these appointments from the pages of social media and the Press Release of
NNPC,”Kachikwu said. On Wednesday, the senate while considering a
motion on ‘allegations of corruption against NNPC trading: time to conduct a
holistic investigation’, resolved to probe the allegations after Kabir Marafa
drew the attention of the lawmakers to them.
Earlier, while moving the
motion, Samuel Anyanwu, senator representing Imo east, said Baru allocated
“almost all products to Duke Oil, this is in addition to its automatic
inclusion in the lifting of crude oil, gas etc, which thus, made Duke Oil a
money spinning outfit that is accountable only to NNPC”. The senator said “Duke
Oil as the sole importer of AGO has slowed down the growth of the country’s
indigenous companies”.
“Since NNPC owns NNPC trading limited and
the refineries, they also shortlist companies that get allocation of products,
lifting of crude oil and importation of products thus, giving undue advantage
to the in house company, even where it lacks the capacity and requisite
requirements to do what it is doing today,” he said. “The general lack of transparency and level
playing field in favour of Duke Oil to lift products without payment as against
its competitors in the sector. These have combined to make Duke Oil the highest
money earner and at the same time, the highest money waster because of the
massive corruption in the way and manner they transact business.”
He said Duke Oil lacked the credentials to
trade internationally and its relationship with the NNPC has stifled the
“growth of indigenous companies operating in the sector”.
Dailytrust
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