Again, House Invites Kyari, Others over State of Refineries

Udora Orizu in Abuja

The House of Representatives Adhoc Committee investigating the state of refineries in the country has again invited the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, Mr. Mele Kyari to give account of the true state of refineries and the things needed to be done to function at maximum capacity.
The lawmakers had on March 24, invited Kyari; the Governor of Central Bank (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva to appear before it on Thursday, March 31.

The Committee had also extended the invitation to other relevant key government stakeholders including the  Accountant-General of the Federation, Auditor-General of the Federation, Director General, Budget Office of the Federation, the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Authority, the Port Harcourt Refining Company Limited (PHRC), the Kaduna Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (KRPC), the Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company Limited (WRPC), National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

But at the investigative hearing, the relevant stakeholders were absent.
Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ganiyu Johnson, said if they fail to appear at the next sitting, parliamentary action would be taken against them.

He expressed concern that despite the money spent fixing the country’s refineries there had been no result.
Johnson added: “We do not want subsidy and if we do not want subsidy then the refineries must be working. We must find a way to make them work so we can refine locally. It is a shame. “So, I want to implore everybody, let us work together as Nigerians that we own this nation. We owe our people so we can end the issue of subsidy. That money for subsidy can be channeled to developmental projects if the refineries are working.

“On that note I want to say that the NNPC and the operators of the refineries, this is the last opportunity you would have. I am directing you that you should by next invitation show up otherwise we would take parliamentary against the NNPC and the operators of the refineries because we cannot continue like this.

“You expect the National Assembly to sit down and approve over N4 trillion just for subsidy. Money that should be used for something else. We cannot continue. We have to find a solution to this problem. We must find a way out. And the way out is for us to join hands and make sure those refineries are working.”