LAGOS OCTOBER 27TH (NEWSRANGERS)- The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) has dismissed a petition accusing the Executive Vice President (Downstream) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Dr Mumuni Dagazau, of money laundering and conflict of interest.
The lawmakers said the petitioners failed to provide evidence to substantiate their allegations.
The committee also passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu and the management of NNPCL, commending their handling of reforms in the downstream petroleum sector.
The committee’s chairman, Ikenga Ugochinyere, announced the decisions on Monday during a sitting at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, where members considered reports on pending investigations and reviewed progress in the implementation of downstream sector reforms.
Ugochinyere said the petition, submitted by the Coalition for Transparency and Accountability in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector, was referred to an ad hoc subcommittee for investigation, with both the petitioners and the NNPCL executive given opportunities to present their positions.
According to him, “the petitioners appeared before the sub-committee on Wednesday, October 21, but presented newspaper clippings rather than documentary evidence to support the allegations.”
He said they were given further opportunities to submit relevant documents but failed to return on Thursday and Friday.
Dagazau, on the other hand, honoured the committee’s invitation through his representatives, who responded to the questions put to them, Ugochinyere said.
The committee chairman added that members also took note of an existing court order relating to the matter before reaching their decision.
“Having considered the report of the sub-committee, this committee has today resolved to dismiss the petition in its entirety. No evidence was placed before us in support of any of the allegations.
“An allegation is not evidence, and a newspaper clipping is not proof,” he said.
Ugochinyere criticised the petitioners for failing to substantiate the allegations, warning against using the National Assembly as a platform to damage the reputations of public officials.
“When petitioners bring weighty allegations against public officers, attract public attention, and then fail to substantiate them or even to return, they abuse the processes of the National Assembly and damage the reputations of those who serve the nation,” he added.
He, however, maintained that the committee remained open to petitions backed by credible evidence, stressing that its oversight responsibilities would be exercised without fear or favour.
The dismissal of the petition followed the committee’s consideration of other pending matters, including proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 and measures to strengthen domestic refining, petroleum product distribution and energy security.
The committee also passed a vote of confidence in Tinubu over his leadership of the downstream petroleum reforms and commended NNPCL’s management for its role in implementing them.
Ugochinyere said the committee’s assessment was that the reforms had helped improve supply stability and strengthen domestic participation in the petroleum market, despite rising international crude oil prices.
He cited the reported increase in the contribution of domestic refineries to petrol supply, alongside measures to improve crude supply to local refineries and expand alternative-fuel infrastructure.
According to him, the contribution of domestic refineries to petrol supply had risen by more than 75 per cent, while the regulator had recorded no supply shortfalls and more than 25 days of national sufficiency.
The committee, he said, had agreed with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to raise national sufficiency to 45 days within the current quarter and develop a strategic national stock capable of covering up to 90 days in 2027.
The lawmaker also highlighted measures by NNPC to ease the impact of rising fuel costs, including a reported N66-per-litre petrol discount introduced on October 1.
He said the Federal Government announced on October 8 that NNPC Retail would suspend its profit margin and sell petrol at cost for 30 days, with priority given to commercial transport operators.
He also commended the company’s efforts to expand compressed natural gas infrastructure, disclosing that more than 120,000 vehicles were operating on CNG and that NNPC had acquired 500 CNG-powered trucks for petroleum product distribution.
Punch
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