Reps to probe NAPIMS over award of $260m illegal contract

House of Representatives on Tuesday unveiled plans to probe the alleged $260 million contract illegally awarded by National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The resolution was passed following the adoption of a motion titled “Need to investigate NAPIMS alleged illegal award of $260 million contract” sponsored by Babatunde Kolawole (PDP-Ondo).

To this end, Yakubu Dogara, House speaker, mandated the joint Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) and Public Procurement to investigate the allegation on the $260 million “illegal” contract and report back to the House within four weeks.

In his lead debate, Kolawole, who expressed concern over the profligate use of the nation’s resources, argued that the contract was implemented in flagrant violation of due process and without approval from both the NNPC’s board and NNPC Group Executive Committee (GEC), as required.

“There is the need to investigate the report of an alleged $260 million contract given by the NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the NNPC in fragrant violation of due process and without approval from both the NNPC’s board and the Corporation’s Group Executive Committee (GEC), as required.

“NAPIMS allegedly fraudulently granted approval for ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, to award four single source contracts for projects in ExxonMobil’s Usan Deepwater Project, at a total value of $260 million without any form of tendering process,” he observed.

According to Kolawole, NAPIMS through three memos, dated October 13, 2014; February 10, 2015, and April 16, 2015, unilaterally nominated four companies to execute the contracts.

He further noted that the NNPC Management had washed its hands off the contract in a recent advert saying it never gave approval for the said contract as it “predates the current Management of the NNPC as well as the Management of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services, NAPIMS, the Corporate Service Unit of the Corporation.

“This shallow excuse is not sufficient excuse to fritter away $260 million, at a time when the nation is seeking ways to fund the 2016 budget and to weed out unnecessary expenses from the annual appropriation,” the lawmaker said.”

Recall that Abdulmumin Jibrin, chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, recently in an interview lamented the huge sum of N1 trillion annual crude production cost (of which this is part) and the need to closely scrutinise it.

While calling foe the intervention of the House, Kolawole emphasised the need for the present administration to put necessary measures in place to curtail such profligate spending by probing the alleged illegality.