Twenty constitutional lawyers have called on the House of Representatives
Joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream
and Midstream) to conduct a forensic investigation into the state of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and downstream
sector to recommend the suspension of the company‘s group chief executive officer (GCEO).
They also asked the committee to recommend to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu the suspension of Lawal Sade, the managing director of NNPC Trading Company and Bala Wunti, the chief upstream investment officer of NNPC Upstream Investment Management
Services (NUIMS) till the end of the investigation.
According to them, putting the trio aside will give room for uninterrupted
investigation as they could no longer have access to sensitive information and documents to derail the crucial exercise
aimed at addressing the stunning allegations of sharp practices being perpetrated right under their nose.
At a press conference in Abuja, the legal practitioners led by human rights activist, Comrade Tijani Usman,
insisted that Kyari and others in the NNPCL management were not concerned about President Bola Tinubu‘s efforts to salvage the nation‘s economy.
The lawyers equally urged the Hon. Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere (Downstream)
and Hon. Henry Okojie (Midstream)-led probe panel not to sweep the OVH Acquisition and other sleaze under the carpet as they are the larger issues the
committee should look into beyond those raised in the motion that prompted the
forensic investigation.Usman said, “It is quite fascinating that the House
of Representatives has resolved to carry out a forensic investigation into
the presence of middlemen in trading, the indiscriminate issuance of licenses, the unavailability of laboratories
to check adulterated products, the influx of adulterated products into the country, the allegation of nondomestication of profits realised from crude marketing sales in local banks, and others abnormalities
