The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has appointed seven members to the newly formed Joint Senate/House Committee tasked with investigating alleged economic sabotage within the petroleum industry.
The appointed members include Rep. Prof. Julius Ihonvbere as the Co-Chairman, alongside members Rep. Iduma Ighariwey, Rep. Gboyega Isiaka, Rep. Sada Soli, Rep. Fatima Talba, Rep. Tunji Raheem, and Rep. Patrick Umoh.
House Spokesperson, Rep. Akin Rotimi, stated that the urgency and significance of the investigation require close collaboration between the Senate and the House of Representatives.
“This new structure aims to ensure synergy, a holistic approach to addressing the issues, and ease of administrative coordination, resulting in a harmonized and efficient investigation,” Rotimi explained.
The Committee has been directed to commence its work immediately, with a clear mandate to ensure accountability and transparency within the petroleum sector.
This move follows the recent announcement by the House leadership of the dissolution of the former ad-hoc Joint Downstream and Midstream Committees.
These committees were initially established to investigate critical issues in the oil and gas sector, including the importation of adulterated petroleum products, the unavailability of crude oil for domestic refineries, and broader energy security concerns.