Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The recent calls for the ministers of finance and petroleum resources, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, respectively, to resign from President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet has thrown members of the House of Representatives on the wat path.
While the call for Okonjo-Iweala to resign was made by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), the chairman of the House Committee on Finance, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibril, led the call for Alison-Madueke’s resignation.
In reaction to Jibril’s call for the petroleum minister’s resignation, the Joint Committees on Petroleum Upstream and Gas Resources of the House on Tuesday cautioned Jibril to stop misleading Nigerians on the happenings in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)..
Jibril had questioning the happenings in the nation’s petroleum industry, urging Nigerians to demand the sack of the oil minister instead Okonjo-Iweala.
A joint statement by Muraina Ajibola and Bassey Ewa, chairmen, committees on petroleum upstream and gas resources, respectively, advised their colleague to face his work rather than poke-nosing of the affairs of their committees.
“By our rules, since the petroleum committees have primary jurisdiction on the Ministry of Petroleum and its agencies, other committees of the House can request for first hand information from us as the need arises.
“Unfortunately, our colleague has never taken advantage of this, but is interested in projecting the petroleum committees as not performing their oversight functions.
“We have noted with great concern Hon Abduimumini’s attempt to divert Nigerians’ attention from the statement credited to the NGF on where and how the sovereign wealth fund is being managed which falls within the purview of his office as the chairman, Committee on Finance.
“It is indeed the saddest day for our democracy, and it smacks of compromise that a legislator and of course the chairman of Committee on Finance of the House of Representatives is now the public relations officer of a minister he is meant to oversight.
“We would have dismissed this statement in the greater interest of protecting the image and sanctity of the House of Representatives (so that the institution will not be seen as divided against itself), but this rejoinder has become imperative on account of the following: Hon Abdulmumin’s press statement is an indictment that the petroleum committees of the House of Representatives are not performing their oversight function as required by the rules of the House. There (have) been several similar misleading comments in the media concerning the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the NNPC by Hon. Abdulmumin Jubrin.
“As colleagues, we have had cause to bring these actions of his to the attention of the appropriate quarters. His latest outburst is not a product of any parliamentary proceedings. It is a reaction to the complaints made by some governors on the Sovereign Wealth Fund. The honourable minister of finance is capable of responding to the complaints made by these governors and should have been allowed to defend herself.
“But our colleague improperly turned himself to the spokesman of the minister of finance, He even proceeded to the ridiculous extent of making a sweeping statement in the said report to wit:- ‘the petroleum resources minister is guilty of superintending over a massively corrupt sector, as shown by her inability to disclose the actual daily production of crude oil to Nigerians.’
“For the sake of posterity, this press statement is important so that Nigerians will not be misled; and also to state the facts as they are lest the petroleum committees of the House be perceived as incapable of performing their oversight duties.
“Let it be known that the petroleum committees of the House have always been alert to their oversight responsibilities. We have been asking relevant questions from the ministry of petroleum resources and its agencies and they have always provided the required information”, the statement read.
It will be recalled that while reacting to the call by Governor Rotimi Ameachi-led Nigeria Governors Forum that Okonjo-Iweala should resign her position over her management of Nigeria’s economy, Jibril had said that rather than calling on the finance minister to resign, “the minister of petroleum resources should be called to answer questions and give account of what is happening. It is not the minister of finance. Nobody knows the quantum of crude we produce per day in this country, the minister is not giving out any information and nobody is asking her.”
