The Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Senator Allwell Onyesoh, has criticised the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for repeatedly failing to honour invitations from the National Assembly, describing the development as a challenge to legislative oversight and democratic accountability.

Speaking with journalists after a meeting of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), the Rivers East senator said the continued absence of the company’s top management at key legislative engagements undermines transparency and weakens the Senate’s constitutional oversight role.

The committee is investigating crude oil theft and considering proposed amendments to Nigeria’s petroleum laws aimed at strengthening the legal and regulatory framework governing the sector.

Onyesoh, who walked out of the committee meeting in protest over what he described as the recurring absence of the NNPCL leadership, said the Senate was merely carrying out its constitutional responsibility.

“We are not contractors. We are simply asking questions. Give us facts. Give us records. We want to study them. That is our constitutional responsibility,” he said.

The senator criticised the company’s repeated explanation that senior officials were on official trips whenever invited to appear before the committee.

“They keep writing letters saying they are travelling to Congo, travelling here and there, just to dodge simple things. Was the GCEO appointed to keep travelling or to work? Is Nigeria’s problem outside the country or here in Nigeria? How is it possible that the GCEO, his deputy, directors and the entire management are all travelling at the same time? That is not acceptable,” he said.

According to him, the repeated failure of the company’s leadership to appear before the committee reinforces concerns about its willingness to submit to parliamentary scrutiny.

He stressed that every public institution established under Nigerian law remains accountable to the National Assembly and cannot place itself above legislative oversight.

“If you are serving the people of Nigeria, first and foremost, you must obey the laws of the land. The highest law-making body in the country invites you, and consistently you are too big to appear. Who told you that?” he asked.

Onyesoh also rejected suggestions that the NNPCL answers only to the Presidency, maintaining that President Bola Tinubu has consistently demonstrated respect for the National Assembly.

“I know Mr President. That is not the President I know. He will not tell any agency to ignore the National Assembly. We all work with Mr President. Whenever issues arise, he engages the legislature with respect,” he said.

The lawmaker disclosed that he would formally raise the matter with the Senate leadership, with a view to strengthening legislative oversight and ensuring greater institutional accountability.

He also called for increased transparency in petroleum sector intervention programmes, urging the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) to publish records of beneficiaries of its scholarship and capacity-building initiatives, particularly those from oil-producing communities.

Onyesoh reaffirmed his commitment to promoting accountability in the petroleum industry and ensuring that host communities benefit more directly from the country’s oil wealth.

The Senate committee also reviewed proposed amendments to Nigeria’s petroleum laws as part of broader efforts to combat crude oil theft, improve regulatory efficiency and increase crude oil production.