Senate probes money spent on refineries’ turnaround maintenance, threatens CEOs

Senate probes money spent on refineries’ turnaround maintenance, threatens CEOs

The Senate on Wednesday asked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and its subsidiaries to submit relevant documents relating to the Turn Around Maintenance projects of the Nigerian refineries.

The Senate noted that from 2010 to date, over N12tn has been spent on TAM.

The Senate also said that it has records of over $592 million, €4.8 million and £3.4 million spent between 2010 to date on TAM, yet none of the refineries is working.

The Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance projects of Nigerian Refineries gave the directive during an interactive session with NNPCL management and other executives of the oil sector.

Some of the heads of the affected agencies invited did not attend but sent representatives to the Senate investigative hearing.

They included the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and their subsidiaries.

The Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee, Senator Isa Jibrin (Kogi East), noted that so much has been heard on the turnaround, and so much has been spent on operational materials on the refineries that are not working.

He said that they want to know the solutions to all the leakages, as there are a lot of them.

The lawmaker said, “We will ask for refund and dismissal of all the chief executives involved in the Turn Around Maintenance.”

Jibrin said that for weeks, they have been asking for documents, which have not been given by the oil companies, a development that created suspicion.

“We sent them an invitation more than two weeks ago requesting documents and the documents have not been released after two weeks. So, we want the chief executives to be present.

“More worrisome is between 2010 and 2020, the sum of N4.8 trillion was said to have been spent as operational expenses. How do you ensure operational expenses that have to do with the purchase of raw materials and similar expenses on moribund factories? How do we come about operational expenses? We need to know.

“These are issues that Nigerians want to know; they want solutions to all these leakages. We know they are leakages. Whether you accept it they are leakages and they are all forms of compromise within your various establishments.

“We know and we will not hesitate to escalate it to the highest possible level, including the possibility of refund and outright dismissal of some of the heads of some of these agencies and possibly go to jail”, he said.

Also speaking, Senator Yahaya Abdullahi said that NNPCL and management of other agencies, who came to represent their bosses, should be sent back to tell their Chief Executive that they are looking for them and not to send other people.

Angry by the development, Senator Sumaila Kawu said that they know the modus operand of the civil service, adding, “We are not in the Senate for personal functions. We are representing the entire legislature. You are in the civil service, we know how you are operating.

“We are in a very serious business. At the end, you will be at the receiving end. Nigerians are not satisfied with what you are doing and you will be at the receiving end.

“We are independent. We can go to any length to defend our people. It is the constitution that entrusted you. So, we must agree on how to operate.

“We will suspend this interaction until when you are ready. We have 100 ways in which we can achieve our legislative work. We just wanted to give you a fair hearing and you must respect the Constitution.”

Senator Danjuma Goje, who asked them whether they were the heads of the agencies, added that they deal with heads or Chief Executives and not people who have been sent.

“We will have to agree on a new date for the submission of the documents both hard copies and soft copies and a date for a meeting where the Chief Executive must appear,” he said.

They were, however, given till Tuesday to submit the documents before the meeting with the Chief Executive.