The speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, says the House is considering giving the Whistle-Blower Bill currently before its chamber a legal backing.
He made the remark during an investigative hearing on the alleged loss of over two point four billion dollars in revenue from the illegal sale of crude oil, organised by the Ad-hoc Committee of the House set up to investigate the alleged loss of over two point four billion dollars in revenue from the illegal sale of forty-eight million barrels of crude oil export in 2015, including all crude oil exports and sales by Nigeria from 2014 till date.
According to him, whistle-blowers that volunteered information to the House will receive the maximum legislative protection and confidentiality.
The Speaker stated that in the light of dwindling revenue accruing to Nigeria from crude oil sales, it was quite alarming to learn about whistleblower allegations that over $2.4 billion in possible revenue by the country was lost from the sale of 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil cargoes in China.
“The recommendation of the Committee after its investigation will no doubt, guide the House in making an informed decision in considering the Whistle-Blower Bill currently before it. The legislation when passed into law will address a mirage of issues associated with the implementation of the policy as well as take adequate care of the whistle-Blowers involved, which is very significant in the success of the policy and law when passed. Let me state emphatically, that whistle-blowers that volunteered information to this Honourable House will receive the maximum legislative protection and confidentiality” Gbajabiamila said.
The Speaker who was represented by the chairman House Committee on ecological funds, Isyaka Ayokunle, said the legislation when passed into law would address a mirage of issues associated with the implementation of the policy as well as take adequate care of the whistle-Blowers involved.
” In the light of dwindling revenue accruing to Nigeria from crude oil sales, it was quite alarming to learn about whistleblower allegations that over $2.4 billion in possible revenue by the country was lost from the sale of 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s crude oil cargoes in China. While it is imperative to highlight that these are unverified allegations, the onus is on the House of Representatives as a responsible House of the Nigerian people to carry out a thorough investigation to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of these allegations including an investigation into crude oil exports from Nigeria from 2014-2022 to ascertain the accuracy of recorded revenue from sales during this period, the utilization of this revenue and identify any likely additional losses in revenue to the country. This exercise is not a witch hunt but rather a constitutional responsibility and also within the legislative powers of the House as enshrined in sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, (as amended), Section 2 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017 and the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives”. Gbajabiamila said.
He said that corruption continues to be the bane of Nigeria’s development with Nigeria ranking 150th out of 180 countries in the most recent Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI).
“While the government through its anti-graft agencies continues the onerous fight against corruption, the task remains daunting and requires the cooperation of all Nigerians to curb and eventually eradicate. It is the practice globally for individuals with information about the existence of proceeds from illegal or corrupt actions by government officials or private individuals to volunteer such information and receive compensation when recoveries are made as an incentive to others. While it is commendable that this administration introduced a whistleblower policy in 2016 and has confirmed the recovery of significant proceeds of corruption from its implementation, the policy is without statutory backing and the receipt and expenditure of these proceeds do appear to conform with constitutional provisions and the payment of compensation does not appear to be transparent”. He said.
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon Mark Gbilla, said that the committee has summoned the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, NEITI, oil and gas companies as well as the office of the Accountant General of to provide clarification on the allegations.
He said that the committee was looking at the issues that have to do with allegations of 48m crude oil barrels sold in China.
He lamented the absence of major stakeholders at the hearing.
“We are looking at the issue of Crude oil export in general from Nigeria for the period under review. We are also looking at the whistleblower revelations and recoveries, in which the federal government publicly declared that they had made recoveries. It’s unfortunate that the minister of finance is not here, and the Attorney General of the Federation is not here. This is a formal request from the committee that appears before this committee because they have received a formal invitation to do so. And a lot of what we have to investigate regards to whistleblower policy is saddled within the Ministry of Finance and the attorney general of the federation. There are responses received from the accountant general office which shows that the minister of finance has been approving payments to whistleblowers in percentages at variance with the policy says they should be paid”, Gbila said.
He said that it was alarming for the CBN not to declare monies recovered through the whistleblower and that such monies need to be paid into the account of the federation as required by law.
“So we are inviting the Minister of Finance, the Attorney General of the Federation, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and stakeholders involved in the implementation of the whistleblower policy to appear before the committee to provide clarification on the operation of this policy and the approvals being made by the finance minister. In regards to the issue of crude oil, we are expecting the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, NEITI, and oil and gas companies that operate fuels and engage in export. The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and the Accountant General himself to be present including the budget office of the Federation to be present and provide clarification”. He said.
A federal commissioner, of the Code of Conduct Bureau Mr Ehiozuwa James, lamented that a similar investigation had been conducted by the house in 2016 without any reasonable conclusion.
He urged the House to ensure a logical conclusion of the investigation to address corruption in the oil sector.
Dominica Nwabufo
