The House of Representatives has decided to create an ad hoc committee to look into claims made by a whistleblower that 48 million barrels of Nigeria’s Bonny Light petroleum were sold illegally to China in 2015, as well as the cargo’s insurance status.
The committee must also look into all of Nigeria’s crude oil exports and sales from 2014 to the present, including the volume, insurance, revenue produced, payments made to the Federation Account or other accounts, and how the money was used during the time period under consideration.
The panel will also look into any proceeds obtained through the Whistle-Blowers Policy of the administration of President Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret.) as well as the degree of adherence to the policy.
The committee is to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
These resolutions followed the unanimous adoption of a motion moved by a member of the House, Ibrahim Isiaka, titled ‘Alleged Loss of over $2.4 Billion in Revenue from Illegal Sale of 48 Million Barrels of Crude Oil Export in 2015, Including Crude Oil Exports from 2014 till Date.’
Isiaka said, “The House is aware of the allegations by a whistle-blower in July 2020 that he (the whistle-blower) had in July 2015, and in response to the current administration’s whistle-blower 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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“The House is also aware that the whistle-blower claimed that the committee, which comprised very high-ranking officials of the administration and NNPC, some of whom he held meetings with, carried out an investigation and confirmed the existence of this cargo, but he discovered in October 2015 that the sale of this cargo had been initiated through unofficial channels…and the eventual refusal of the committee to honour their agreement to pay 5 percent value of the cargo in line with the terms of the whistle-blower policy.
“The House is worried by the allegations that the entire cargo of 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude was sold without the proceeds being remitted to the coffers of the country, which translated to a loss, to the Nigerian State, of over $2.4bn considering the 2015 global average crude oil price of $52 per barrel.
“The House is concerned that more than two years after these allegations came to the fore and the uncertainty surrounding the required insurance of these crude exports, it becomes imperative that the House ascertains the actual details of all previous crude exports from Nigeria from 2014 till date, with regards to quantity, sale, insurance, revenue generated, payment into the Federation Account and how these proceeds were utilised.”
Meanwhile, another member of the House, Mark Gbilah, whose name was listed as co-sponsor of the motion, raised a point of order to disown it.
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