The National Assembly is set to relaunch its investigation into alleged economic sabotage within Nigeria’s petroleum sector, following its decision to form a joint committee.

This follows the earlier suspension of separate probes by the Senate and House of Representatives in July.

The Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, who also chairs the Senate ad-hoc Committee on this issue, revealed the latest development in a statement yesterday.

“As we fully return to legislative duties this Tuesday, the National Assembly is prepared to revisit the pressing issues in the petroleum industry.

“The sector is not performing optimally, which is tied to several challenges such as crude oil theft, ongoing and ineffective maintenance of public refineries, substandard petroleum imports, and disruptions in fuel supply,” Bamidele said.

Addressing earlier reports suggesting that the Senate had suspended its investigation, Bamidele clarified: “The Senate did not suspend its ad-hoc committee on alleged economic sabotage in the petroleum industry. The public hearing was only postponed to resolve matters concerning the National Assembly’s procedural rules.”

He further explained that the Senate and the House of Representatives are now ready to collaborate through a joint committee, which will pick up the investigation from where the individual efforts left off.