The Senate on Wednesday ordered a probe into allegation of insubordination leveled against the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Maikanti Baru, by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.
To this effect, the upper chamber of the National Assembly has set up an Ad-Hoc Committee which it mandated to look into the allegation that Baru awarded $25billion contracts without due process.
The Senate took the decision in response to a memo by Kachikwu to President Muhammadu Buhari with allegations that Baru has not been answerable to him as NNPC GMD while also taking unilateral decisions including the award of $25 billion contract without due process.
Senator Samuel Anyanwu had moved a motion titled “Allegation of Corruption against NNPC Trading: Time to conduct a holistic investigation and which the Senate adopted to order the probe of NNPC under Baru.
Leading debate on his motion, Anyanwu alleged that Baru was allocating almost all NNPC products to Duke Oil in addition while also unilaterally including some firms owned by cronies’ firms in the lifting of crude oil, gas.
He alleged that the relationship between the NNPC and Duke Oil has stifled the growth of indigenous companies operating in the Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Anyanwu, however, urged the Senate to raise an ad-hoc committee to investigate the policies introduced by Baru on allocation of products to Duke Oil as well as a holistic investigation into the activities of NNPC Trading Limited.
His prayers were unanimously adopted. But Senator Kabiru Marafa in his contribution made an additional prayer for investigation into award of contracts without due process levied against Baru by Kachikwu.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki, after the debate, announced the setting up seven man ad-hoc committee to investigate the allegations leveled against the NNPC GMD.
According to Saraki, Senator Aliyu Wammako will chair the ad-hoc committee, while Senators Rose Ojo, Kabiru Marafa, Bashir Babakaka, Albert Akpan, Chukwuka Utazi, Tayo Alasoadura, Samuel Anyanwu and Ahmed Ogembe are members. The Senate President urged the members of the ad-hoc committee to come out with the report that will meet up with standard of the Senate.
He urged members of the Committee to turn in a quality report which he said will “meet the standard we have set in the 8th Senate” In a related development, the Senate, on Wednesday, set up an eight-man ad hoc committee to probe the allegations of corruption leveled against the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, by Senator Isah Misau (APC, Bauchi Central).
the same vein, it ordered its Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions to investigate the allegations by the Police against Senator Misau.
Both the Police and Senator Misau have been having running battles over allegations of corruption leveled by the Senator against the IGP.
The Police had launched a counter allegation, insisting that Senator Misau had deserted the Force and had forged documents to contest election to be in the Senate.
The Senate raised the probe panels on the strength of a Point of Order by Misau who intimated his colleagues with the running battles he has been having with the Police since he raised the allegation of corruption against the Inspector General of Police.
Senator Misau accused the IGP of blackmailing him because he dared to talk about the level of corruption in the force, just as he raised fresh allegation bothering on infidelity against the IGP.
He alleged the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) has been offering promotion to female officers who he has been having affairs with, a development, he said, has been having demoralising impact on hardworking officers.
He also accused IGP of receiving money from oil companies where police officers were sent to provide security. He said while most Nigerians were without security protection, the Police had kept deploying a large number of officers to guard companies and a few individuals.
He said: “I am a retired Police officer and had served for 10 years; my father served the force for 34 years. In fact, he joined the Police before I was born.
“So, when I speak about the Police, I know what I am saying. When I speak about the Police, I speak with authority. “I am concerned about what is happening in the Police in terms of bribery; there is a need for something urgent to be done to salvage the image of the institution.
“Before raising alarm on the irregularities in the institution, I called three serving officers and they confirmed to me that people pay more than N500,000 to get promoted.
I also have other evidences that I am ready to release for investigation.
“This is an open secret; it is obvious that even people with questionable characters have Police protection and have been blaring sirens all over the place.
“One Police officer is supposed to serve 400 people, but in Nigeria, it is one Police officer to 800 people, while one private marketer has more than 30 policemen.
“A situation like that only depletes the number of Police personnel available to protect the ordinary citizens. “We have excellent Police officers who are now demoralised because promotion is no longer based on merit and years of service.
“Another thing I found out is that there is illegal diversion of funds. Under the 2016 Budget, there was a line item for purchase of Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC), but instead of the APCs, luxury cars were purchased without virement,’’ But in fresh allegations, the senator said Idris married one Esther, a deputy superintendent of police (DSP), an act which he says contravenes the Police Act.
The senator said Idris married Esther because she was “four months pregnant” for him. “The IG is openly having two relationships with police women which he gave special promotion.
One of them is Amina and one of them is DSP Esther which the IG on 15th of last month got married to that woman DSP. Under Police Act and regulation, you cannot marry as serving woman police unless that woman retires.
“He quickly did a secret wedding in Kaduna because the lady is four months pregnant. I am saying this because of the institution – that institution I am supposed to be a stakeholder in that institution.
It is the institution that brought me here which I’m proud of,” Misau added. While stating that Idris was not capable of leading the police, the senator said the capture of Chukwudubem Onwuamadike, a kidnapper better known as Evans, was not an achievement of the IGP.
“Sometimes I laugh when I see the IG celebrating that he has arrested Evans. Evans was operating in Lagos openly until when he kidnapped somebody who jumped into somebody’s house and went to report.
“Is this an achievement of IG? This cannot be an achievement of the IG. Even an ordinary person can do that,” Misau added. “There are serving police officers who are now demoralised because of the activities of the office of the IGP.
Mr President, even when it comes to appointment, the IG decided to have his own boys who are just assistant commissioners of police, he will give them special promotion – he will give them deputy commissioners of police; he won’t spend three months or six months, he will just give them acting commissioners of police.
“The reason they created special promotion, I know it. I was once an ADC just as to get favours from governors or presidents so if they are there, they can pave way for them.
