Speaker appoints 7-member committee to investigate petroleum industry sabotage

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen has appointed seven members into the Joint Senate/House Committee tasked with investigating alleged economic sabotage within the petroleum industry.

The members include- Prof. Julius Inhovbere as the Co-Chairman, Iduma Ighariwey as member, Gboyega Isiaka as member, Sada Soli as member, Fatima Talba as member, Tunji Raheem as member and Patrick Umoh as member.

According to a statement by the House Spokesperson Rep Akin Rotimi, the urgency and importance of the matter have necessitated close collaboration between the Senate and the House of Representatives.

He said “This new structure aims to ensure synergy, a holistic approach to addressing the issues, and ease of administrative coordination, resulting in a harmonized and efficient investigation.

“The Committee is expected to commence its duties immediately, with a clear mandate to ensure accountability and transparency in the sector.

It could be recalled that the leadership of the House of Representatives has announced the dissolution of the former ad-hoc Joint Downstream and Midstream Committees, which were established to investigate critical issues in the oil and gas sector amidst controversies.

The joint Ad-Hoc committees were mandated to investigate issues concerning the importation of adulterated petroleum products, the non-availability of crude oil for domestic refineries, and other energy security concerns.