House Misconduct Probe; Petroleum Minister, Allison-Madueke Again Declines Summon

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Wednesday, June 18th, 2014

Despite repeated demands by the House of Representatives committee on public accounts, Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, will not honour invitation from the legislators.

The group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Andrew Yakubu, confirmed this in a correspondent to the committee. The Minister is billed to appear before the committee on June 26.

The committee is probing the Minister’s alleged expenditure on private jet charters, estimated at N10 billion, by NNPC and its subsidiary, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC). Mrs Allison-Madueke is also being accused, among other things, of using the jets for personal trips, even though they were officially chartered and paid for with tax payers’ money.

Yakubu said they would not appear before the committee because the issues were already in court and appearing before a committee on the same subject amounts to “prejudicial”. He also affirmed that the corporation would not provide any documents to the committee regarding the probe.

In May, media reported that an Abuja court had stopped the house from probing the alleged scam but these were dismissed by the judge. Later, Alison-Madueke said she needed the approval of the President to honour the summons. Nevertheless, the committee members have maintained that it would go ahead with

the probe without her appearance.