On Wednesday, the Senate issued a stern warning, expressing its readiness to recommend the dismissal and potential legal action against Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), along with other leaders of governmental bodies within the oil sector.
The basis for this threat stems from the seemingly ineffective Turnaround Maintenance (TAM) projects, which have incurred a staggering N12 trillion in expenses without yielding substantial outcomes.
In particular, the upper chamber targeted its warning at the heads of agencies directly associated with the TAM initiatives aimed at revitalizing Nigerian refineries.
Disturbingly, the Senate disclosed that it possesses documented evidence indicating expenditures exceeding $592 million, €4.8 million, and £3.4 million from 2010 to the present for TAM.
Despite these substantial investments, none of the refineries involved have managed to refine even a minimal amount of oil.
The Senate Ad-hoc Committee investigating the various Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) projects of Nigerian Refineries, issued the threat during an interactive session with NNPCL management and other executives of the oil sector.
Some of the agencies invited whose chief executive officers failed to show up, but sent representatives, include: Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and their subsidiaries.
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee, Senator Isa Jibrin (Kogi East), noted that so much has been heard on the turnaround, and so much has been spent on operational materials on the refineries without results.
He said, “We will ask for refund and dismissal of all the chief executives involved in the Turn Around Maintenance.”
Senator Jibrin said that for weeks, they have been asking for documents, which have not been given by the oil companies, a development that created suspicions.
Jibrin said, “We sent them an invitation more than two weeks ago requesting for documents and the documents have not been released after two weeks. So, we want the chief executives to be present.
“More worrisome is that between 2010 and 2020, the sum of N4.8 trillion was said to have been spent as operational expenses. How do you incur operational expenses that have to do with purchase of raw materials and similar expenses on factories that are moribund? How do we come about operational expenses? We need to know.
