Adedapo Adesanya
By Adedapo Adesanya
The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Oil Theft has invited Minister of Finance, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, and the Secretary General of the Federation, Mr Boss Mustapha, as part of an investigation into the alleged loss of over $2.4 billion in revenue from the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil export in 2015.
Also summoned are the acting Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Sylva Okolieaboh, and the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, among others.
The committee is also concerned about the disparity in figures from crude oil sales from 2011 to 2014 and is accusing the Finance Minister of approving payments to whistle-blowers at variance with the whistle-blower policy.
The Ad Hoc House committee was charged with investigating the whistle-blower’s allegation of illegal sale of 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s bonny light crude in China in 2015, valued at $2.4 billion.
The committee, in February, had accused the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Mr Abubakar Malami, as well as Interpol, of what it described as interference in the committee’s investigation.
The panel questioned why a whistle-blower would be invited by Interpol at the request of the Ministry of Justice just after the commencement of the investigation of the House.
However, the Head of the National Central Bureau of Interpol Nigeria, Mr Garba Umar, said the Bureau only acted on the request of the AGF.
The Chairman of the House’s Ad hoc Committee on Oil Theft, Mr Mark Gbillah, said, “There is a group called Advocacy for Good Governance and Free Nigeria.
“That is the so-called Civil Society Organisation that wrote to the Attorney General claiming there was this international gang of blackmailers trying to blackmail senior officials of the government.
“How come the Attorney General responded to allegations by a faceless body? That means the Attorney General himself did not ascertain the veracity of any organisation.”
The Committee, dissatisfied with the submission of Interpol, accused the AGF of interfering with the investigation of the House.
It also feared for the safety of the whistleblower and insisted that the Ministry of Justice should not be making direct requests to Interpol but should go through the police, as Interpol, by law, is only expected to respond to requests by local law enforcement agencies.
