Production sharing contracts: Reps to grill Abubakar Malami.

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

The House of Representatives on Tuesday invited the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice Mr Abubakar Malami SAN to appear before its Ad-hoc Committee on Joint Ventures and Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) over the alleged shortchange of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC on the  various agreements by oil companies.

Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee Hon.Abubakar Fulata issued the summon at an investigative hearing organised by the House panel on the matter at the National Assembly.

Fulata who dismissed some of the representatives of major oil operating companies who appeared to defend the position of their Chief Executive Officers CEOs on the issue decried that many joint venture agreements and production sharing contracts entered into by the NNPC were not executed.

He also lamented that most of the oil companies use foreign currencies for the exchange of goods and services as against the prevailing local currencies and charged the invited stakeholders to reverse the trend.

On the issue under investigation he lambasted some CEOs of the invited agencies and companies for not honouring the House panel with their presence adding that representation by their surbordinates is unacceptable.

The lawmaker said that there are so many reports that Nigeria had been shortchanged by these multinational oil companies on these joint ventures and production sharing contracts by NNPC.

A member of the House panel Hon Benjamin Kalu also called for greater accountability on these agreements by the NNPC so that the nation’s oil sector can continue to contribute to economic growth.

The Committee Chairman Hon.Fulata thereafter directed the Clerk to the Committee’s Secretariat to immediately draft a letter inviting the Minister of Justice to the next sitting of the panel on Tuesday October 4, 2022 at 2.00 pm.