House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating the sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil worth over $2.4 billion and crude oil export from 2014 to date has raised eye brows over alleged payment of $200 million to two private firms as consultancy services fees on whistle blowers recoveries.
Chairman of the panel, Mark Gbillah, at the resumed investigative hearing, insisted the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, and the Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, must appear before the ad-hoc to explain the alleged payments.
Gbillah expressed dismay that the two ministers have not been cooperating with the panel in the ongoing investigation. He said the ad-hoc committee has written several letters to the duo, without much success.
“We need the Finance Minister and the AGF to appear before this House to provide clarity on the inflows that have come in from whistle blowers recoveries, and about these monies that were recovered. And the Central Bank of Nigeria is required to provide information that has been provided by these whistle blowers about substantial amounts of monies that were paid supposedly and allegedly for consultancy services, when there is no record of any agreement entered into by those companies regarding any services.
“These are very weighty allegations and as a responsible House, we owe everybody fair hearing and a benefit of doubt, and this is what we’ve been seeking to accord those who have been mentioned in these allegations.
“But the finance minister and the AGF have not bothered to respond to any of the correspondence from this committee and this, in our opinion, shows a lack of regard not only to the House, but that of the National Assembly as a whole.
“We will make this further appeal to the finance minister, the AGF and others who have not responded or who have not honoured the committee’s invitations to do so in the national interest. And in the event that they fail to do so, we will be constrained to invoke the instrument of summons and all other necessary powers the National Assembly can exercise in this regard.
“But we want to make this a formal and final notice to those concerned, the finance minister and the AGF to appear before this committee to give evidence with regard to the allegations that have been laid with regard to the questions the committee has requested for them to answer and to respond to,” he said.
