Kerosine subsidy: Alison-Madueke, NNPC’s boss shun Reps’ invitation The absence of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, on Monday stalled a public hearing on kerosine subsidy by the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream). Officials of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company and the the Department of Petroleum Resources also shunned the hearing. The House had on November 27, 2013, resolved to probe the subsidy on kerosine after fresh revelations indicated that regulatory agencies were subsidising the importation of the product contrary to a Presidential directive stopping it. Besides, the House had observed that the product was not sold for the approved pump price of N50 per liter at any distribution outlet in the country. But, on Monday, the minister and key officials of the regulatory agencies failed to turn up for the hearing. A frustrated Chairman of the committee, Mr. Dakuku Peterside, lamented that between January 10 and February 6, the committee had sent up to five invitations to the officials, including using the mass media to no avail. Peterside came to address stakeholders and offered his apologies after most of them had waited for over two hours from 10am to about 12.15pm for the hearing that was never to be. According to him, the first set of letters went out on January 10, informing the officials that the hearing would take place on January 29. He said because there were no responses, the committee sent reminders on January 18 and January 27. On January 28, Peterside stated that the committee resorted to media invitations but still did not get adequate responses from the agencies as they reportedly refused to forward the documents the committee requested from them.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Feb 2014 21:35:21 +0000
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