Reps Summon EFCC Boss, NNPC Chief, Others Over Undeclared $17bn Oil Revenue

 

Reps Summon EFCC Boss, NNPC Chief, Others Over Undeclared $17bn Oil Revenue

The House of Representatives has summoned the acting chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Magu; group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr Maikanti Baru; and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele to appear before its committee probing the alleged loss of $17 billion in undeclared oil revenue.

The director-general of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Dakuku Peterside; and Accountant General of the Federation, Mr Ahmed Idris, were also summoned.

The committee also summoned the Group General Manager, National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr Stephen Sejebor; and Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Mr Modecai Laden.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, while inaugurating the probe panel, condemned the endemic corruption in the petroleum industry and said it was impossible to have too many probes in the sector as it was deeply mired in corruption.

“If loss of revenue to the nation through the oil industry was to be avoided, I can beat my chest that under no circumstances should Nigeria be talking about recession.

“Therefore, no amount of investigation in the oil industry can be said to be an over kill as the oil industry has become endemic,” Dogara said.

Chairman of the probe committee, Hon Abdulrazak Namdas, in his address, said the probe was important as Nigeria essentially survived on oil proceeds and the fight against corruption could not be said to have succeeded without a serious probe of the oil sector.

He, therefore, warned the invited public officials not to disregard the summon as the committee would not hesitate to invoke the powers of the legislative body to issue warrants for their arrest.

The committee chairman also refused to grant audience to directors and other management staff who were sent as representatives of their respective organisations.

Namdas said that reports had it that over 57 million barrels of crude oil were illegally exported and sold in the U.S. between January 2011 and December 2014.

Vanguard reports that the probe panel chairman put the estimated oil revenue lost by the government of Nigeria at about $12bn.

“At an exchange rate of N196 to a dollar, this translates to over N2 trillion. You could imagine what the value is now,” he said.