Senators Talk Tough Over N12tn Refineries’ Turnaround Maintenance

•Demand relevant documents to justify expenditure

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate  yesterday asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and its subsidiaries to submit relevant documents relating to the turnaround maintenance projects of the petroleum refineries.

The Senate noted that from 2010 to date, over N12 trillion had been spent on maintaining the refineries. The Senate also said that it had records of over $592 million, €4.8 million and £3.4 million spent between 2010 to date on turnaround, without results.

The Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various turnaround projects of Nigerian refineries, gave the directive during an interactive session with NNPC management and other executives in the oil sector.

Some of the heads of the affected agencies invited could not attend but sent representatives to the Senate investigative hearing.

They included the NNPC, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and their subsidiaries.

The Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee, Senator Isa Jibrin (Kogi East), noted that so much had been heard on the turnaround, and so much had been spent on operational materials on the refineries that are not working.

He said that they wanted to know the solutions to all the leakages, as there were  a lot of them.

The lawmaker said: “We will ask for refund and dismissal of all the chief executives involved in the turnaround maintenance.”

 Jibrin said that for weeks, they had been asking for documents, which have not been given by the oil companies, a development that created suspicion.

“We sent them invitation more than two weeks ago requesting for documents and the documents have not been released after two weeks. So, we want the chief executives to be present.

“More worrisome is that between 2010 and 2020, the sum of N4.8 trillion was said to have been spent as operational expenses. How do you incur operational expenses that have to do with purchase of raw materials and similar expenses on factories that are moribund? How did we come about operational expenses? We need to know.

“These are issues that Nigerians want to know; they want solutions to all these leakages. We know they are leakages. Whether you accept it they are leakages and they are all forms of compromise within your various establishments.

“We know and we will not hesitate to escalate it to the highest possible level, including possibility of refund and outright dismissal of some of the heads of some of these agencies and possibly go to jail,” he said.

Also speaking, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi said that NNPC and management of other agencies, who came to represent their bosses, should be sent back to tell their chief executives that they are looking for them and not to send other people.

Angered by the whole development, Senator Sumaila Kawu said that they know the modus operandi of the civil service, adding: “We are not in the Senate for personal functions. We are representing the entire legislators. You in the civil service, we know how you are operating.

“We are in a very serious business. At the end, you will be at the receiving end. Nigerians are not satisfied with what you are doing and you will be at the receiving end.

“We are independent. We can go to any length to defend our people. It is the constitution that entrusted you. So, we must agree on how to operate.

“We will suspend this interaction until when you are ready. We have 100 ways which we can achieve our legislative work. We just wanted to give you fair hearing and you must respect the constitution.”

Senator Danjuma Goje, who asked them whether they are the heads of the agencies, added that they deal with heads or chief executive and not people who had been sent.

“We will have to agree on new dates for the submission of the documents both hard copies and soft copies and a date for meeting where the Chief Executive must appear,” he said.

They were, however, given till Tuesday to submit the documents before the meeting with the chief executives.