Senate summons NNPC GMD, SPDC over award of oil licence

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8 years ago

Dr Maikanti Baru, GMD of NNPC

THE Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr Maikanti Baru, is in the news again, as the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, on Monday, summoned him over the alleged revocation and re-award of Oil Mining Licence (OML) 13.

The licence was said to have been revoked and re-awarded to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of NNPC through executive fiat.

THE committee also summomed the Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) over the same matter, following a petition by the national cordinator, Global Peace and Sustainability Network, Chief Longers Anyanwu.

Chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, warned the affected companies that the Senate would not hesitate to issue a warrants of arrest on any defaulting chief executive.

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The petition alleged that OML13 was revoked and reallocated without going the statutory licensing bids rounds.

It further alleged that the said transaction was shrouded in mystery and under the table circumstances.

The committee said it had become imperative for it to conduct a holistic investigation into the revocation of oil license.

According to the committee chairman, the chief executive of SPDC had been invited on three occasions and he failed to appear.

He warned that the Senate would do everything possible to block any conduit pipe in the oil sector.

The petitioner and national cordinator of Global Peace and Sustainability Network had told the committee that OML 13 is an Onshore oil block on the Eastern Niger Delta and has an acreage of 1,923 square metre.

He called for outright cancellation and a reversal of the entire process, adding that “it was shrouded in fraudulent and corrupt processes and never complied with the laid-down procedure contained in the extant laws, regulations and guidelines established for operations in the oil and gas industry.”