Kabir Marafa, chairman of the
senate committee on petroleum resources downstream, on Monday walked out a
director of the ministry of finance of a public hearing.
The director was sent to
represent Kemi Adeosun, minister of finance, at a hearing on the alleged N5
trillion subsidy paid to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
Marafa said if the minister was
not able to make it, she ought to have sent the permanent secretary of the
ministry.
The senator said it was
disrespectful of Adeosun to have sent a director.
“Director? Not even the permanent
secretary, so because she is called to the villa she cannot send a permanent
secretary?” he asked.
“With due respect to your
personality, I would reject your presentation. We want you to communicate to
her the displeasure of this committee.
“This is an indication of
disrespect. When the minister of state to petroleum resources is unable to
attend, he sends the permanent secretary. And somebody feels she cannot come,
and cannot send her permanent secretary? If she is bigger than this
institution, let us know that she is bigger. Let us flex muscles and see who is
bigger.”
The chairman also rejected a
representative of Godwin Emeifele, governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
He said Dipo Fatogun, director of
banking and payments, should convey the committee’s “immense displeasure” to
the CBN governor.
He hoped that Emeifele did not
send him out of “disrespect”.
The chairman also rejected a
representative of Godwin Emeifele, governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Marafa added that the funds in
question could be used to finance the country’s infrastructural deficit.
The lawmaker wondered why
petroleum products refined in the country were paid for by Nigerians.
“Like I said, it is for them to
submit documents. This is not the time to cross-examine them. Our questions
will be limited to what we want them to submit to us because we are going to
invite them on one by one basis. Then we will now scrutinise them on based what
they have submitted. Now we have very little questions for them,” he said.
“This is not an interactive
session. We want the volumes what quantity you imported and what quantity
refined and we want a detailed document of crude that came into this country.
“We want to know on whose
authority that the order for Nigerians to pay for products refined in Kaduna,
Warri. To me is a turning point whether we even need refineries or not. The
refinery refines product, you pay for the subsidy. Then we don’t need refinery
let us keep importing our products.”
Asks them well well
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