The House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) has revealed that it would be forced to invite President Muhammadu Buhari, if the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari, continues to shun its summons.
The committee said Buhari, as Minister of Petroleum Resources, would be asked to come forward and answer questions on the oil sector.
Chairman of the committee, Musa Sarkin-Adar, issued the threat in Abuja on Thursday at an investigative hearing on the recent revocation of four Oil Mining Licences, while the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who had earlier made his presentation, watched.
Buhari had on April 23, 2021, approved the restoration of the leases on four Oil Mining Licences to the NNPC.
The oil licences affected are OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137.
The Department of Petroleum Resources had on March 30, 2021, revoked the licences belonging to the federation.
The President had directed the DPR to retract the letter of revocation of the leases.
Sarkin-Adar said, “Our message to all those who have failed to appear before us as invited, namely the NNPC, Addax Petroleum Company Ltd and Santex Nig Ltd; we are giving them two weeks from today; we will reschedule this meeting for two weeks calendar days to appear before this committee and we continue our business.
“Unless they want us to invite President Buhari to appear before us as the Minister of Petroleum; if they do not come, we will not hesitate. Buhari is a minister; he appointed himself as approved by the parliament and he is doing his job. We will invite him and I know that as the law-abiding President, he will come.”
The lawmaker observed that the committee had asked for relevant documents to investigate the activities of the NNPC, maintaining that the corporation had refused to comply with the directive.
Earlier, Sylva stated that the actions taken by Buhari and the DPR on the OMLs were in accordance with the law.
