Probe of NNPC stalled

Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 30.05.2008

THE probe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the House of Representatives has run into a hitch owing to confusion among the 26-man ad-hoc committee anchoring the probe on modalities for carrying out the assignment, the Nigerian Tribune can report.

Facts emanating from the public probe indicate that the members are yet to come to terms on the direction the probe would take, even as the leadership of the House has consistently cautioned the panel members on how they had been going about the probe.

According to findings, the leadership of the House has not been happy with the controversies and contradictions which have been trailing the probe of the power sector by the House, hence, it has been circumspect on the probe of the NNPC and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

The worries of the House leadership, according to a member of the probe panel, have been compounded by the sensitivity of the issue involved in the probe of the oil sector, and hence its fears that the probe would be counter productive if not handled carefully.

Nigerian Tribune also learnt that more than a month after the House set up the ad-hoc committee for the probe of NNPC and DPR, the members have not been able to resolve issues on the number and kind of consultants to employ in anchoring the probe.