Oil Sector Debts: Reps threaten to arrest owners of defaulting oil companies

…recover over 50% of debts

Abdullahi Gaya, chairman, Ad-hoc Committee investigating alleged huge debts and criminal acts of sabotage by oil marketers on Wednesday disclosed that 50 percent of the debts has been recovered.

Gaya (APC-Kano) who disclosed this in Abuja, while giving update on the outcome of the activities of the Ad-hoc Committee, issued threat notice to defaulting oil marketers who fail to honour the invitation to attend the investigative public hearing.

The committee expressed displeasure over the inordinate attitude of some of the affected major oil marketers including Total, Mobil, NIPCO, Forte Oil, Oando and MRS to the ongoing investigation.

Separate investigations were initiated by the Senate on alleged non-remittance of $3.48 billion by NNPC and NPDC from 2013 to date while the House of Representatives is probing over N500 billion debt to the Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC).

The chairman who did not disclosed the actual amount recovered so far, however explained the amount was stipulated in the documents obtained from various stakeholders.

Worried by the development, the Committee which held another session on Wednesday at the National Assembly complex, resolved to walk out some Lawyers who represented some of the oil companies.

The committee noted that the investigation was simply to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the claims of the PPMC as well as the oil marketers who are the actors on the matter with a view to ensuring that the Nigerian government was not short-changed in anyway.

Gaya who expressed optimism that 80 percent of the money would be recovered by the end of the investigation, explained that none of the lawyers could not be held responsible for the actions of the oil marketers.

To this end, the committee threatened to issue warrant of arrest against the managing directors and chief executive officers (CEOs) of the affected companies to compel them to attend the hearing to defend themselves.

He said: “Before we started this investigation, what we did as a committee was to sit down to digest and see the best way out and fortunately for us, so far we have recovered a lot of money, huge amount of money.

“We called PPMC to give us information on the outstanding of oil marketers and they came and told us. We then sent letters to 17 oil marketers to send in documents and tell us their own part, the outstanding.

“We also requested that they come and defend it but instead of doing that, they are sending representatives. Why are sending persons that are not part of their organizations?”