Senate probes NNPC over ‘unfair financial transactions’

The Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), irked by the flagrant disregard of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to honour its summons, has finalised arrangements to probe the corporation over what it considered “unclear financial transactions.”

Efforts by the Senator Magnus Abe-led Committee to obtain financial details in connection with its spending since October 2013, have been frustrated by NNPC since October 2013, Blueprint gathered.
The corporation in another of its manoeuvres tactically shunned yesterday’s meeting with the committee as no representative from the NNPC was in attendance.
A source, who spoke on the basis of anonymity, said “there was no correspondence either” from the corporation to explain the circumstance behind their failure to appear before the panel yesterday.

He said: “I am to draw your attention to the fact that the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, as amended, statutorily empowers the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and by extension, its committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to oversight the activities of the NNPC and its subsidiary refinery companies.
“I am to further express the committee’s dissatisfaction with the conduct of the management of the NNPC, especially its seeming disrespect and disregard of the committee’s invitations and requests for information and data relating to the activities of the Corporation and its refinery companies.”