A group, the George Uboh Whistleblowers Network, on Tuesday, stormed the National Assembly to demand transparency from the House of Representatives panel, set up to look into the 48 million barrels of oil that were illegally sold in China.
The group, led by one Peter Umoh, which described itself as a civil society organisation with the mandate to fight corruption, carried banners and placards with inscriptions denouncing the setting up of the ad-hoc committee by the lower chamber when the crime, according to them, is already being litigated against in the court of law.
The House of Representatives had in December 2022, resolved to set up an ad hoc committee to investigate a whistleblower’s claims that 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude were illegally sold in China in 2015, as well as the insurance status of the cargo.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Ibrahim Isiaka, a member of the house.
In the motion, Isiaka said, “The house is aware of allegations by a whistleblower in July 2020 that he had in July 2015 and in response to the current administration’s whistleblower policy brought to the attention of a committee purportedly set up by the President for the recovery of missing crude oil exports, the existence of 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light crude oil in storage at several ports in China ostensibly under the authorisation of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and the intention of parties in China and the NNPC to sell this cargo.”
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Following the motion, an ad-hoc committee was set up and chaired by Mark Gbillah, the Deputy Chairman House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) at the House of Representatives.
The angry protesters, however, accused the ad-hoc committee of a lack of proper investigation as various processes were boycotted.
He said as whistleblowers, they blew open the stolen crude oil and illegal sales in China to Gbillah and Nigerians generally.
Gbillah, he added, rather than carry them along in the planned investigation, decided to do it alone, raising suspicion on vested interest.
Umoh said, “The whistleblowers who furnished Hon Mark Gbillah the information germane to the 48 million barrels of crude oil stolen did not file any petition to the National Assembly for any investigation or hearing, neither were they called as witnesses to testify during the hearing.
“Because Gbillah did not follow this sacrosanct due process, the purported public hearing by the ad – hoc committee is a sham predicated on unilateral action driven by greed.
“Therefore, we, the whistleblowers at this protest, authoritatively assert that the National Assembly does not hear or deliberate on any matter in court.”
Umoh added, “Two different competent courts of jurisdictions, are already handling the case filed against the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Mele Kyari to account for proceeds from the stolen crude oil which are roughly estimated to be $2.4billion at $50 per barrel and $4.8billion at $100per barrel.
“Hon Gbillah led ad – hoc committee of the House of Representatives should therefore hand off the matter by not sitting or carrying out any public hearing on it.”
When told that the ad-hoc committee was not set up by Hon Gbillah himself but by the leadership of the House of Representatives, he said the protest was staged for the leadership to know the futility of its action on the committee.