SGF, Kachikwu, others’ absence stall Reps session on subsidy
The absence of some top government officials yesterday stalled an investigative hearing of a House of Representatives joint committee that is probing allegations of billions of naira being paid as fuel subsidy.
The joint committee on finance and petroleum (downstream) headed by Babangida Ibrahim (APC, Katsina) and Joseph Akinlaja (PDP, Ondo) had invited the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun; Petroleum Resources Minister (state), Ibe Kachikwu; Budget and National Planning Minister, Udoma Udo Udoma.
The panel had also invited the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Kachalla Baru; Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, Mordecai Ladan; and the Executive Secretary of Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Abdulkadir Umar Saidu, but they were all absent at the hearing, a development that forced the panel to postpone the hearing.
Babangida, who is the lead chairman for the joint panel, read letters from Adeosun, Kachikwu and Baru, who said they could not make it to the hearing due to other engagements.
“Yesterday and today, we received three correspondences from Kachikwu, Adeosun and NNPC.
“The minister said he is currently outside the country. He directed NNPC GMD and DPR to respond to the committee’s requests,” he stated.
Babangida said the action of the officials showed the attitude of government agencies to the parliament, noting that “the finance minister couldn’t even send a representative here.”
There were no correspondences from the SGF and Udoma, but DPR and PPPRA were represented at the hearing. The panel however insisted that their heads must come in person to respond to questions regarding “secret” subsidy payment.
In the end, members of the panel agreed that the hearing could not continue as the key stakeholders were absent, with Babangida apologizing to other stakeholders present for the postponement.