The House of Representatives has commenced investigation into allegations of abuse of bidding, contracting and operating processes by a foreign company, Exxon Mobil against Nigerian owned catering companies.
The investigation is sequel to the resolution of the House on April 21, 2021 that the American company was reported to have commenced a contract process which favoured foreign companies to the exclusion of indigenous service providers.
It had mandated the Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring had to investigate the matter by inviting Exxon Mobil’s management, the National Petroleum Investment Management Services and the Nigerian Content development and Monitoring Board.
At the beginning of the investigative hearing on Tuesday, chairman, House Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring, Legor Idagbo said the exercise was not a witch-hunt as all side would be given fair hearing.
“This investigative hearing is not a witch-hunt in any way. We are all Nigerians and what is to the best interest of our country and our citizens should be paramount in our minds. There is no way our indigenes would complain to us and we would fold our hands and not do something about it,” he said.
Executive director and chief financial officer, Exxon Mobil, Segun Banwo who represented the managing director, Richard Lainga at the hearing refuted the allegations.
The committee after taken submissions from the various parties, adjourned for two weeks and directed Exxon Mobil to provide documents to back their claim at the next sitting and demanded that the company’s managing director appear in person.
In his ruling chairman of the committee, Idagbo said: “For our indigenous contractors, we would try to ensure we protect you as much as possible. But we will also try not to jeopardize the operations of a multinational company that seeks to serve us too.
“So we would try to create that balance. All we are doing is that we want to be armed with adequate information so that we can balance the two and then arrive at a decision”.
