The hearing, initially scheduled to address accusations of economic sabotage in the sector, has been delayed to allow for further consultations with key stakeholders.
The Nigerian Senate has postponed the highly anticipated public hearing on the alleged sabotage within the petroleum industry.
The hearing, initially scheduled to address accusations of economic sabotage in the sector, has been delayed to allow for further consultations with key stakeholders.
In a statement released on Sunday, Senate Leader and Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee to Investigate Alleged Economic Sabotage in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, emphasized that the postponement was necessary to ensure comprehensive input from relevant stakeholders.
According to Bamidele, their involvement would significantly enhance the investigation’s outcome and provide valuable insight into the situation.
Meanwhile, before the postponement, some key stakeholders had been summoned to appear before the committee for a public hearing set for September 10-12, 2024.
Among those invited are the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, officials from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Ports Authority.
Representatives from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigeria Customs Service, Nigerian Navy, international oil companies, Dangote Group, Capital Oil, and modular refineries have also been summoned.
Bamidele furthered explained that the postponement of the hearing was deemed necessary to allow for broader consultations with key stakeholders both within and outside the petroleum industry, as well as to meet legislative requirements and ensure thorough due diligence in the investigation.
According to him, the postponement was also influenced by the urgent demand on the stakeholders across all 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory, requiring their immediate attention.
“We sincerely regret any inconvenience this may cause the stakeholders, but this decision was made purely in the national interest,” he added.
The Senate assured stakeholders that a new date for the hearing would be communicated soon, and emphasized that the measures were taken to allow the ad-hoc committee to conduct a comprehensive investigation and propose lasting solutions to the challenges facing the petroleum sector.
Meanwhile, Senate President Godswill Akpabio had set up the ad-hoc committee to investigate the billions spent on maintaining the nation’s refineries, scrutinize regulatory agencies over payments to transporters, and probe the alleged importation of hazardous petroleum products, including substandard diesel.
Further investigations show that the ad-hoc committee had completed its preliminary inquiries and held interactive sessions with key ministries, departments, and agencies, as well as private interests in the downstream and midstream petroleum sectors.
