Fuel scarcity: Okonjo-Iweala, Allison-Madueke may shun Senate summons

Strong indications emerged on Saturday that the Finance Minister/Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and her counterpart in the Petroleum Resources Ministry, Mrs. Dieziani Allison-Madueke, may not appear before the joint senate committees probing the current fuel crisis, on Monday.

Our correspondent learnt that the two female ministers allegedly evaded the service of the senate summons when the documents were taken to their offices.

Alison Madueke

The joint committees on Petroleum Resources ( Upstream and Downstream ), had on Friday, invited the two ministers, alongside the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation; Managing Director of the Pipelines and Petroleum Marketing Company; Director of the Department of Petroleum Resources; Managing Director of Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency; for a meeting slated for tomorrow.

It was learnt that members of staff of the two ministries in charge of correspondences, allegedly refused to collect the invitation letters on the excuse that the ministers were not in their offices.

A member of the joint senate committee told our correspondent on conditions of anonymity that, “with the refusal of the ministry officials to collect the letters, the meeting scheduled for Monday is now uncertain.”

“All our efforts to deliver letters from the Senate to the Finance Minister, the Petroleum Minister, GMD of NNPC and the MD of DPR were unsuccessful largely due to the ongoing strike in the oil and gas industry as staff locked up their premises.

“At the Ministry of Finance, our staff was told that the minister was not around and they vehemently refused to collect any mail from us. The same thing happened at the petroleum resources.”

Also invited by the senators are, Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria and the National Association of Road Transport Owners.

Joint chairmen of the committees, Senators Paulker Emmanuel and Magnus Abe, signed the invitation to all the stakeholders in the oil industry.

The invitation reads in part, “On Thursday, May 21, Senator Abdul Ningi drew the attention of the Senate to the lingering fuel scarcity in the country and the untold hardship on the generality of Nigerians.

“He urged the Senate to look into the matter with a view to finding the causes and lasting solution to the problem. Senate expects the joint committee report on the lingering fuel scarcity at Tuesday plenary.”

Fuel scarcity: Okonjo-Iweala, Allison-Madueke may shun Senate summons