The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has issued a warrant of arrest for the new Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and the Accountant General of the Federation, Oluwatoyin Madein, along with 17 others.
This action was taken because they did not respond to the committee’s invitations regarding inquiries into their operations.
Lawmaker Fred Agbedi introduced a motion during the committee’s hearing on Tuesday, December 5, leading to the adoption of the arrest warrant.
Agbedi explained that the officials were invited four times but failed to attend, prompting the need for a warrant. He urged the Inspector General of Police to ensure the officials’ appearance before the committee on December 14.
The committee’s Chairman, Micheal Irom, supported the motion, emphasizing the importance of bringing the officials before the committee. The warrant of arrest was deemed necessary due to the officials’ persistent non-compliance.
The petitioner, Fidelis Uzowanem, based the petition on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) report of 2021.
Uzowanem argued that the report, summarizing transactions in the oil and gas industry for 2021, revealed fraudulent activities dating back to 2016.
He alleged that the 2024 proposed budget of 27.5 trillion could be funded from recoverable amounts identified in the NEITI report.
Uzowanem claimed the report concealed illegal transactions in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), involving cash payments to companies that did not produce crude oil. These cash payments were purportedly used for money laundering.
Uzowanem highlighted discrepancies in NEITI’s reported payments to companies like Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd, Chevron, and Nigeria Agip Company.
He claimed that NEITI concealed significant amounts of money that were allegedly laundered through these companies.
Among those to be arrested are the CEOs of National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Ethiop Eastern Exploration and Production Company Ltd, and the Western Africa Exploration and Production.
The committee aims to address these concerns and investigate the alleged financial irregularities in the oil and gas industry.
