The Senate Committee on Local Content has ordered the Group General Manager of National Petroleum Investment and Management Service (NAPIMS), Roland Ewubare, to appear before it within 24 hours or risk being forced to do so.
Chairman of the panel Samuel Adeola gave the order at its sitting attended by 10 senators investigating the variations associated with the $16 billion Egina Deep Sea Oil Project.
He said it was becoming a tradition in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries to treat National Assembly invitations with levity. “This committee will henceforth not deal with lieutenants of these agencies without their heads or cogent reasons in advance.”
NAPIMS had sent three general managers as representatives to the committee after it received an invitation three weeks ago for appearance of the group general manager to throw light on submissions made by Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd handling the Egina project.
Godswill Akpabio, the vice chairman of the committee and Minority Leader said the importance attached to the information likely to be provided led members to turn out in large numbers. According to him, it is insulting not only to the Nigerian constitution but the office of the GGM for him to disregard the Senate invitation on issues relating to how Nigerians are being shortchanged by foreign companies and their local collaborators.