The House of Representatives has sacked the ad-hoc Joint Committee on Downstream and Midstream it set up to probe activities of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Ltd.(NNPCL), and the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority(NMDPRA) after some members joined to place adverts supporting the oil corporation.
118 members of the House of Reps under the banner of “1 AGENDA” placed an advertorial in three national dailies allegedly aimed at protecting NNPCL in the aborted probe panel.
However, some lawmakers whose names appeared in the advertorial distanced themselves from the advertorial.
However, following the controversies over the advertisement, Rep. Akin Rotimi, spokesperson of the House of Representatives, announced the dissolution of the Committee in a statement on Monday in Abuja.
He said that the committee would be succeeded by a newly constituted ad-hoc committee with the same mandate.
The committee was tasked with the job of investigating the importation of adulterated petroleum products, non-availability of crude oil for domestic refineries and other critical energy security issues.
He said that the dissolution was to ensure the efficacy and independence of the investigation.
The spokesperson said that the new committee would consist of members selected for their expertise, competence and integrity.
Rotimi said that the House remained committed to addressing the vital issues and ensuring a thorough oversight.
(NAN)
