NLNG, NASS AND PARLIAMENTARY OVERSIGHTS

The NASS should perform its oversight function honestly, urges Chineme Okafor

I followed through a recent complaint by 73 Rivers communities against the NLNG for alleged violation of pipeline right of way (RoW) compensation and, I was not disappointed at the outcome.

Frankly, I didn’t expect a different outcome. I thought it was the usual ‘cookbook’ outcome when the National Assembly (NASS) directed the NLNG to pay billions of naira to the communities without actually employing thorough oversight investigations to decide.

The decision reminded me of the situation the Niger Delta Power Holding Company (NDPHC) experienced with communities on the RoW of its transmission lines – overnight, religious shrines rose on NDPHC’s transmission RoWs after payments – and the NASS aided the indiscretions. I believe that parts of the operational problems of the NDPHC today were aided by the NASS. Communities made unending RoW claims on the NDPHC even after it legitimately settled them, yet the NASS egged on the communities with its phony oversights.

Shall we even talk about the electricity regulator, NERC, NNPC, the bulk electricity trader, NBET or even NELMCO (the list is extensive) – whom I witnessed first-hand their experience of the shameful abuse of oversights by the NASS? Every occasion of this left me believing that the NASS has an oversight ‘cookbook’ meant only for dishonest purposes. Its members simply don’t understand their job.

Members of the national parliament sit to represent the people. Their job is to see to it that the administration of public policy benefits the people, and that policies agreed on with the government – especially the ones funded with public money – are well done for the people. This is simply called parliamentary oversight.

The Swedish jurist, Anders Johnsson who is a former Secretary General of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), once defined parliamentary oversight as “the review, monitoring and supervision of government and public agencies, including the implementation of policy and legislation.” Johnsson reckoned with this that the parliament will always use its oversight powers to hold government to account and stop abuse of public trust in democracy where transparency and accountability is bedrock.

Nowadays, parliamentary oversight extends beyond just public institutions, to even private concerns. Except when a parliament has a reputation of abusing its oversight power, there should be nothing wrong with it looking out for the wellbeing of its country. But the NASS has sadly showed that its oversights are dubious.

Without honestly investigating the situation, asking the NLNG, a company known for its business credibility to pay billions of naira to communities who claim that they never got compensated for the RoW of gas pipeline in their communities is lazy legislating.

Well, the NLNG has denied falling short of extant laws in this regard – the Oil Pipeline Act 2004, I suppose, which sets the condition precedent for laying pipelines in Nigeria, including compensation for RoW to affected persons.

It said in a statement, “the acquisition of RoW by NLNG was open, transparent and participatory, in line with extant law, which led to the granting of NLNG’s pipeline license in the first place without any objection from the communities. The process included advertisements calling for objections against grant of the licence, followed by duly advertised public hearings that were held for the purpose of hearing such objections.

“NLNG’s pipeline license was for an initial period of 20 years from when it was granted in 1997 and then renewed in 2017 for 15 years after another duly advertised renewal process in which there was no objection from any quarter.”

So, in its oversight investigations, if it did any at all, the attention of the NASS should have been on such questions as: did the NLNG which was incorporated 33 years ago, and has been delivering returns to its shareholders including the Nigerian state, its biggest shareholder with 49 per cent, escape paying RoW compensation to 73 communities, and how under existing laws did it do it?

The NASS should use its vast resources to properly and honestly investigate issues brought to it before setting out to ridicule its oversight power.

 Okafor is a journalist and an academic.