Crimes

Oil theft: Reps summon NNPCL, NIMASA, NIWA CEOs

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating crude oil theft has again ordered the Group Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and others before the committee.

Others summoned by the lawmakers include the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigeria Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA).

The chairman of the committee, Alhassan Rurum, made the summon in Abuja on Saturday, September 9, 2023, adding that the heads of the agencies must appear in person and not send representatives.

Rurum said the heads of all the invited agencies must appear in person on Monday, September 11.

He said most of the invited CEOs wrote to the committee asking for permission to be represented by their subordinate as they were not disposed to appear in person and honour the committee’s invitation.

The lawmaker said the committee has the power to invite and cause the appearance of any individual and government officials, including corporate entities charged with the responsibility of administration of public funds.

At the hearing, the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigeria Upstream Regulatory Authority (NUPRA) said pipelines and flow stations were the major targets of oil thieves.

They blamed faulty metering procedure, faulty instrument, and lack of technology as impediments in the efforts of agencies of the Federal Government to tackle oil theft.

Rurum, however, said the invited CEOs of the agencies should come with a list of all other agencies working in export terminal of all the nation’s oil sector.

The Star