Reps spit fire over $1.56bn NNPC loan
• It’s not in 2013 Budget – Tambuwal
• No, it’s not a loan – NNPC
By IHEANACHO NWOSU, Abuja
The proposed $1.56 billion loan by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) has continued to draw flaks, with members of the
House of Representatives describing it as illegal. House Speaker, Aminu
Waziri Tambuwal, said yesterday that the loan was neither captured in
the 2013-2015 Medium Term Framework, nor the 2013 Budget.
But Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dieziani Allison-Madueke, and
the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, in separate
statements, explained that the money in question was not a loan but a
forward sales agreement between the corporation and its trading partners
in lieu of the corporation’s indebtedness to them. Tambuwal, Madueke
and Yakubu made the statements during the commencement of a public
hearing on the controversial loan by the House Joint Committee on
Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream), Aids, Loans and Debt
Management and Justice.
The speaker said the rationale for probing the loan was in line with
the resolve of the 7th House to deliver the dividends of democracy to
the people of Nigeria and also ensure an entrenchment of a policy that
all the citizenry could be proud of.
While encouraging the Joint Investigative Committee to do a thorough
work on the matter, Tambuwal, who was represented by the Chief Whip of
the House, Mr Ishiaka Bawa, expressed optimism that the findings and
recommendations of the panel would tremendously influence the direction
and decisions of the parliament.
His said: “The issue before us today for consideration, the proposed
$1.56 billion loan by the NNPC is very important. It’s importance is
predicated on the fact that the proposed loan was neither captured in
the 2013-2015 Medium Term Framework, nor the 2013 Budget.
“As a Parliament, we believe that if we continue on the part of
truth, history shall vindicate us. I assure you that members of the
Seventh Assembly are fully committed to bringing the dividends of
democracy to our people and ensuring that we have a policy that we shall
all be proud of,” he assured.
He stressed: “It is on account of this belief that the House in its
wisdom referred this matter to the committees on Petroleum Resources
(Upstream and Downstream), Aids, Loans and Debt Management and Justice
to investigate fully and report back to the House. “We are convinced
that your findings and recommendations will greatly influence the
direction that the House will take, and, therefore, urge you to do a
thorough job.
As leaders, we must be sensitive to the needs of our people and do
only those things that will reflect us in a positive light,” he added.
In his opening remark, the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum
Resources (Upstream), and lead Chairman of the Joint Committee, Rep
Muaina Ajibola, assured the stakeholders that the committee was only
performing its constitutional function and would not witch-hunt anybody
in the process. Meanwhile, representatives of the Head of Revenue
Generating Agencies of Federal Government were, yesterday, walked-out of
the meetings with Public Account Committee (PAC) of the House of
Representatives.
The PAC, headed by Solomon Adeola-Olamilekan, had invited the
agencies like the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Petroleum
Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Directorate of Petroleum
Resources (DPR), Nigeria Custom Service, and Federal Inland Revenue
Services (FIRS) to appear along with the Accountant General of the
Federation (AGF) to defend queries raises against their audited accounts
by the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation (AGoF) for the
year 2007.
But all failed to turn up, preferring, however, to send less
important subordinates to answer to the demands of the committee. But
only the Accountant General, Niyi Otunla, appeared in person to the
surprise of the committee members.
While the other invitees refused to give any reasons for their
absence, Adeola-Olamilekan told his colleagues that the Custom Service
sent a letter last Friday, requesting for attendance on March 21, but
that the request was turned down because the meeting had been fixed and
that all other agencies are to appear along with the Accountant General
who had confirmed his at
No comments:
Post a Comment