NEWS
Anxiety: House C’tee Orders Tinubu’s Appointees’ Arrest
Total disregard of the House of Representatives by the highly placed, including key figures in the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has moved the hand of the House’s Committee on Public Petition to order their arrest.
The committee passed the resolution on Tuesday, by adopting a motion by Hon Fred Agbedi (PDP-Bayelsa) at the committee’s hearing in Abuja.
The warrant of the arrest was issued against some top appointees of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, mostly Chief Executives of Federal Government Agencies and Departments as well as CEO of top oil majors.
Prominent among the 19 functionaries of the Federal Government listed for refusing to honour the committee’s invitation are the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, and the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Oluwatoyin Madein.
According to Hon Agbedi, the arrest warrant became inevitable following the attitude of the invitees.
He maintained that the legislators’ duties were time-sensitive and the CEOs having been invited four times and neglecting to honour the invitation, left the committee with no other choice.
The warrant of arrest meant that the CEOs would be brought before the committee by the Inspector General of Police (IGP) after due diligence by the Speaker, Rep. Tajudeen Abbas.
Committee Chairman, Hon Michael Irom (APC-Cross River) said that the IGP should ensure the CEOs were brought before the committee on December 14.
The petitioner, Fidelis Uzowanem, had said the petition was anchored on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report of 2021.
According to him, the report was a summary of the transactions in the oil and gas industry for 2021 which NEITI put together could be challenged.
In his words, “We took up the challenge to examine the report and discovered that what NEITI put together as a report is only consolidation of fraud that has been going on in the oil and gas industry.
“It dates back to 2016 because we have been following and we put up a petition to this committee to examine what has happened.
“The 2024 budget of 27.5 trillion that has been proposed can be confidently be funded from the recoverable amount that we identified in the NEITI report.
“It is basically a concealment of illegal transactions that took place in NNPCL, they have been in sync with some oil companies where some companies that did not produce crude were paid cash core, an amount paid for crude oil production.”
Uzowanem also pointed out that the cash core payment was being used as a conduit to defraud Nigeria, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited in concert with oil majors.
“We also found that the cash core payment was used as a channel for laundering funds by NNPCL and we found out that NEITI was able to conceal it in its report.
“In 2021 NEITI reported that Total Exploration and Production Nigeria-Ltd was paid 168 million dollars but examination of submission by the company shows that it received 292 million dollars.
“In other words, 124 million dollars was laundered by NNPCL through Total because monies that have been officially paid to Total could not have been concealed if it were not meant for fraudulent purposes.
“Also for Chevron, the dollar payment NEITI puts forward in its report was 76 million dollars but document emanating from Chevron showed that they received as much as 267 million dollars.
“In other words, 191 million was laundered under the cover of Chevron and NEITI concealed that; also, Nigeria Agip Company received 188milliom dollars but none of it was reported by NEITI,” he pointed out.
Some others affected by the warrant of arrest are, the Chief Executive Officer, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), that of Ethiop Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, as well as the CEO of the Western Africa Exploration and Production.
The newly appointed Sole Administrator for Rivers State, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd), has arrived in the state to formally assume office, expressing optimism about maintaining peace and stability.
Ibas landed at the Port Harcourt International Airport, Omagwa, at approximately 11:25 a.m. on Thursday, where he was received by top government officials and security personnel.
Upon arrival, he was accorded a guard of honour before proceeding to the Government House in Port Harcourt.
READ MORE: Tinubu Swears In Ibas As Rivers Sole Administrator
Accompanied by the State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, and the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 16, Ibas was conducted around the Government House before heading to the Executive Council Chamber.
There, he addressed Government House officials and service chiefs in a closed-door session.
Speaking briefly with journalists, the retired Vice Admiral, dressed in an all-white native attire, expressed confidence in the state’s stability and promised further engagements with stakeholders.
“I want to thank you all for what you have been doing so far. When I got in here, I decided to meet with the Head of Service and service commanders. I will have to meet them for formal briefing,” Ibas stated. “I assure you that later this evening, I will address you on some issues you want to know.”
Asked about his reception in the state, Ibas said, “Port Harcourt is my city. Everything appears calm. We just want Port Harcourt to get to where it has always been.”
The Nigerian Senate on Thursday approved President Bola Tinubu’s proclamation imposing a six-month suspension on Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara, his deputy, and all members of the State House of Assembly.
The Senate’s decision followed a closed-door session that lasted over an hour, after which Senate President Godswill Akpabio announced the resolution.
The Senate based its approval on Orders 133, 134, 135, and 136.
READ ALSO: Fubara Breaks Silence On Tinubu’s State Of Emergency In Rivers, Calls For Calm
During the plenary, Akpabio read out Tinubu’s official letter, which stated: “In compliance with the provisions of Section 305, Subsection 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, I hereby forward, for the consideration of the Senate, copies of the official Gazette of the State of Emergency Proclamation 2025.”
The letter outlined the key aspects of the proclamation, including the suspension of the Rivers State government and the appointment of Vice-Admiral Iboete Iba as the state’s Administrator.
The Administrator will operate under direct instructions from the President.
“While I look forward to the expeditious consideration of the Senate, please accept, Distinguished Senate President, the assurances of my highest consideration,” Tinubu’s letter added.
Following the reading of the letter, Akpabio committed it to the Senate Committee of the Whole for immediate passage.
Senator Seriake Dickson (PDP, Bayelsa West) then invoked Order 133, requesting a closed-door session.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) wishes to clarify that despite a minor incident at a section of the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) earlier today, the plant remains operational and continues to produce on-spec refined petroleum products.
ALSO READ: Tinubu Swears In Ibas As Rivers Sole Administrator
This was disclosed in a statement on its verified handle on micro-blogging site, X on Wednesday night by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi O. Soneye.
The NNPC Ltd assures the public that there is no cause for concern, as all sections of the recently rehabilitated plant are in full operation, Soneye explained.
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