The House of Representatives has formed a new committee to investigate economic sabotage in the oil and gas industry. Ikenga Ugochinyere, the current Chairman of the House Committee on Upstream Petroleum and a former ad hoc Chairman, is notably absent from the committee’s membership list.

The previous ad hoc Committee, which investigated matters including the importation of adulterated petroleum products, the lack of crude oil for domestic refineries, and other crucial energy security concerns, was dissolved by the House a few days ago. The committee’s dissolution came after some disputes since its founding.

The former ad hoc committee, headed by Ugochinyere, had demanded the dismissal of Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd.

On the other hand, fifty legislators, led by Billy Osawaru, representing Edo State, opposed Kyari’s dismissal, claiming that doing so would be against parliamentary procedure while the probe was still underway.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen stressed the urgency and significance of the issue, emphasizing the need for close cooperation between the Senate and the House of Representatives, when he announced the members of the newly created committee on Friday.

“The Senate and the House of Representatives must work closely together because of the urgency and importance of this matter,” stated Abbas. Julius Ihonvbere, the leader of the House, was appointed co-chairman of the committee. The other members are Hon. Gboyega Isiaka, Hon. Sada Soli, Hon. Tunji Raheem, Hon. Patrick Umoh, Hon. Iduma Ighariwey, and Hon. Fatima Talba.

According to House spokesman Rotimi Akin, the new committee structure is intended to provide synergy, a comprehensive approach to tackling the challenges, and simplicity of administrative cooperation. He continued that the committee is anticipated to start working right now, with a specific mandate to guarantee responsibility and openness in the industry.

“The goal of this new structure is to guarantee synergy, a comprehensive approach to addressing the issues, and ease of administrative coordination, culminating in a unified and effective investigation. With a clear mandate to ensure accountability and transparency in the sector, the committee is expected to commence its duties immediately,” stated Akin.

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