Constitutional lawyers have denounced the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbas’s decision to dissolve the joint committee investigating issues in the Petroleum Midstream and Downstream sectors.
The dissolution was announced by House Spokesman Hon. Akin Rotimi on Monday.
The lawyers and Civil Society Organizations, operating under the Alliance for Transparency, on Tuesday argue that the move is an attempt to cover up sector issues. They claim that any reversal of the dissolution should be done through a formal House resolution.
Hon. Akin Rotimi Jnr. stated, “The committee, which was originally assigned to probe the importation of adulterated petroleum products, the shortage of crude oil for local refineries, and other crucial energy security matters, will be replaced by a newly formed ad-hoc committee with the same responsibilities.”
John Lalong, the National Coordinator for the group, questioned the legitimacy of the House leadership’s decision, saying, “The original referral was made to the Joint Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) and (Midstream), led by Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere and Hon. Henry Okojie, through a formal resolution in a House plenary session.”
The group expressed disappointment that the dissolution occurred shortly after allegations surfaced suggesting that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. may have financially influenced the House leadership to achieve this outcome.
The lawyers condemned the dissolution as an illegal maneuver to obscure problems within the petroleum sector and insisted that reversing this decision should require a formal resolution by the House in a plenary session.
