The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP) strongly condemns the repeated failure of the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, to appear before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.
For the CNPP as the umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria, this act of defiance, for the second consecutive time, is a flagrant and unacceptable affront to the Nigerian legislature and, by extension, the Nigerian people.
We view this brazen disregard for a constitutional summons not as an isolated incident, but as a predictable symptom of the catastrophic failure of our basic national institutions for promoting accountability, compliance, and regulation. Such contempt for the Senate is the direct result of decades of compromised oversight functions and the chronic lack of institutional checks and balances by the National Assembly itself.
It is, therefore, laughable to see the Senate Committee on Public Accounts wailing and issuing empty threats after being snubbed again by the NNPCL GCEO. The committee is merely reaping what the Senate has sown over the years. For too long, Nigerians have watched probes and public hearings turn into theatrical performances with predetermined outcomes.
We are not deceived by this latest charade, as past experience shows that after all the noise, absolutely nothing will come out of it. The 10th National Assembly, like many before it, appears more interested in performance than in genuine oversight.
This pathetic state of affairs reinforces the CNPP’s long-standing call for a full-scale judicial investigation into the operations and finances of the NNPCL from 2017 to 2024.
It has become painfully obvious that the new management of the NNPCL is poised to break the records of the sacked Mele Kyari-led management team in impunity, lack of accountability, and total disregard for institutions with oversight powers over the Federal Government-owned oil company.
The current delay tactics employed by the NNPCL are a clear and deliberate strategy to protect those who may have been involved in the suspected looting of the colossal N210 trillion, which remains unaccounted for. This development is a full vindication of the CNPP’s consistent advocacy over the years.
We have tirelessly called for a comprehensive independent audit of the government-owned oil company to uncover the truth behind:
* Zero Remittances: The consistent failure to remit accrued revenues to the Federation Account, starving states and local governments of critical funds.
* Refinery Scams: The billions of dollars lost to the endless and fraudulent turnaround maintenance of Nigeria’s four government-owned refineries, which remain moribund.
* Ghost Workers and Overheads: The scandalous recruitment of workers and expenditure of huge overhead costs in these unproductive refineries.
The Senate has proven itself incapable of holding the NNPCL to account. The only path to uncovering the monumental fraud that has defined our oil and gas sector is through an independent, uncompromised, and transparent judicial probe.
We reiterate our demand, alongside over 75 Civil Society Organisations, that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu immediately constitute a panel of inquiry with judicial powers to investigate the NNPCL. Anything less will confirm that the entire system is designed to protect powerful interests at the expense of national prosperity and accountability.
Signed,
Comrade James Ezema
Deputy National Publicity Secretary
Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP)
