Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, Nnpc Boss, Baru Maikanti, Barred By Senate Until Further Notice

Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu, Nnpc Boss, Baru Maikanti, Barred By Senate Until Further Notice

There was a mild drama as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum, Senator Kabiru Marafa, barred the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, and the Group Managing Director, GMD, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Maikanti Baru, from responding to questions raised on whether subsidy is being paid or not.

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This was during an investigative hearing by the National Assembly, on Friday.

First to raise the question was Senator Bassy Albert Akpan (PDP, Akwa Ibom), when he queried the Petroleum stakeholders on the N26 differential in the landing cost N171 and N145 approved price.

Marafa interjected, saying: “The essence of this meeting is not about whether there is a subsidy or not. I do not want us to go into the issue.”

The issue was also raised by Senator Philip Aduda (PDP, FCT), when he demanded for explanation on it; he said: “If we are paying subsidy let us know.” But again, Marafa quickly interjected, saying that a new date would be fixed for the hearing on subsidy.

Gistlovers recalls that Marafa had during a Press briefing ahead of the investigative hearing, said among the issues to be discussed was the payment of subsidy.

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Marafa had on Friday stated: “Part of what we are going to ask is the issue of subsidy: We were told that there is a subsidy; if there is, who approved it? We are the only one that can appropriate money. If you do that without our approval, you have breached the Constitution of the country.”