The Senate and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) appear to be on a collision course over the powers of the National Assembly to summon the oil giant in view of its new status as a Public Limited Liability Company (PLC).
The status of the company changed from full to partial government ownership following the enactment of the new Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
The Senate Committee on Finance had on Tuesday summoned the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, to appear before it yesterday.
Kyari did not honour but was represented by the General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPCL, Mr Garbadeen Muhammed.
The committee, however, said it needed to hear from the GMD and not by proxy.
The refusal of the GMD to honour the invitation was based on the understanding that the NNPCL is a limited liability company and, therefore, has no business appearing before the legislature, the panel said.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Solomon Adeola, stated this on the second day of an interactive session on the 2023 – 2025 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
He said that the NNPCL Liaison Officer in the National Assembly had approached the Clerk to the National Assembly to the effect that it is wrong for the Senate to have invited the GMD in view of the new status of the oil giant.
He insisted that even though the corporation had been fully privatised, it is still 100 per cent owned by the Federal Government until major investors acquire needed shares in the company.
He said the company must continue to remain accountable to any arm of government that needed its attention.
He added that the law passed by the National Assembly only empowers the NNPCL to be a regulator and an active participant in the oil industry.
Addressing Mr. Muhammed, Mr Adeola said: “Your Liaison Officer told the Clerk to the National Assembly that you are a limited company and as such the need to be appearing before us is not there.’’