Petroleum Sabotage Probe: Nigerian Senate-Appointed Committee Seeks Cooperation from Stakeholders

The Ad-hoc committee set up by the Nigerian Senate to investigate alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum sector has urged stakeholders in the industry to cease fire and cooperate with the investigation. Senator Michael Bamidele Opeyemi, the chairman of the committee, made this appeal in Abuja on Wednesday during the committee’s one-day stakeholders’ interactive session.

The committee was inaugurated a month ago by Senate President Godswill Obot Akpabio, and its mandate is to carry out a discreet investigation into the alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum sector. The lawmaker emphasized that the committee’s aim is to work in the interest of the country and not to witch-hunt anyone. He assured that the investigation would be thorough and impartial, and that the committee would engage with stakeholders within the oil and gas industry to identify possible gaps in regulating and strengthening the surveillance and monitoring structures in place.

The committee’s remit includes examining the pre-shipment and pre-discharge standard test parameters adopted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, as well as investigating allegations of importation of toxic fuel and other oil-related substandard substances. The committee also intends to determine the level of compliance of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) Direct Sale and Direct Purchase arrangements in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act, including the extent of transparency and accountability in the scheme.

In his presentation, Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer/CEO of the NNPCL, assured the committee of cooperation, despite allegations of media attacks and character assassination. He stressed that the company belongs to over 250 million Nigerians and is their future. Other stakeholders who attended the interactive session included the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Economy, Wale Edun, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Heineken Lokpobiri, the National Chairman of IPMAN; Dangote Refinery, Executive Secretary of NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, and other stakeholders.

The ongoing investigation is expected to uncover the truth behind these matters of economic importance and provide insights into the state of the petroleum industry in Nigeria.