Constitutional lawyers and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) have strongly condemned Speaker Tajudeen Abbas for dissolving the joint committee tasked with investigating issues in Nigeria’s Petroleum Midstream and Downstream sectors.
On August 5, House Spokesman Hon. Akin Rotimi Jnr. announced that the joint committee, which was investigating critical issues such as the importation of adulterated petroleum products and shortages of crude oil for local refineries, would be dissolved. A new ad-hoc committee was to be established with the same responsibilities.
In their response, the Alliance for Transparency, comprising several lawyers and CSOs, expressed their disapproval of the Speaker’s decision. John Lalong, National Coordinator of the group, questioned the legitimacy of dissolving the Standing Committee through a media statement rather than a formal House resolution. He emphasized that the original referral to the Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and (Midstream), led by Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere and Hon. Henry Okojie, was made through a formal resolution in a House plenary session.
The Alliance underscored that the public and economic interest in the issues being investigated necessitate transparent and proper handling. They expressed concern that the timing of the dissolution—following allegations of financial influence from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL)—suggested an attempt to obscure problems within the sector.
The group condemned the dissolution as an attempt to cover up sector issues and insisted that any reversal of this decision should also be made through a formal resolution by the House in a plenary session.
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