The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami. Photo: Archive/Radio Nigeria.
The Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), Abubakar Malami, has indicated his readiness to provide relevant information to the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the alleged sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil amounting to over $2.4 billion and crude oil export to global destinations from 2014 to date.
The Minister expressed this through a letter sent to the Ad-hoc Committee chaired during the resumed investigative hearing.
While acknowledging receipt of the letter, the chairman of the committee Mr Mark Gbillah, who expressed appreciation for the response, said the AGF is expected to appear before the Committee on Thursday next week.
“We want to call on the honourable Minister of Finance, like the Attorney General show regards and respect for the separation of powers as enshrined in our Constitution, and respond promptly to the request of the Committee so that we can get to the bottom of our investigation.
“Like I already said,we are giving her the benefits of the doubt, we are not unmindful of the other powers we have and we are afraid to exert them and we will do so if the leeway we have provided is still neglected and not recognized by the honourable Minister of Finance,” Hon. Gbillah said.
The lawmakers during the resumed investigative hearing quizzed management staff of some oil companies involved in the lifting and sales of crude oil to global destinations in furtherance of the investigation into alleged sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil amounting to over $2.4 billion and crude oil export to global destinations from 2014 to date.
The lawmakers also quizzed some Deposit Money Banks operating in the country including Fidelity, Union Bank and Ecobank Plc, respectively.
The committee requested for documents such as proof of Pre-shipment certificates, names and statements of accounts where proceeds of crude oil sold are deposited, stock certificate, copies of procurement details, details of cargoes, date of crude lifting, quantity, destination, and type of crude lifted, among others, which are to be submitted by next week Wednesday.
Reporting by Ibrahim Shehu; Editing by Chinasa Ossai and Annabel Nwachukwu