The House of Representatives, yesterday, commenced investigation into the non-remittance of multi-billion-naira revenue belonging to the Federal Government by 25 insurance companies operating across the country.
Chairman of the House Committee on Capital Market and Other Institutions, Kwamoti Laori, disclosed this during a meeting with the management of insurance companies at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
Also, the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Midstream) will meet on Thursday to deliberate on the state of the country’s four refineries. According to Laori, the 25 insurance companies allegedly involved in the financial infractions include International Energy Insurance, LASACO Assurance, Consolidated Hallmark, Guinea Insurance, AIICO Insurance, Axa Mansard, Mutual Benefit Assurance and Linkage Assurance.
Others are Prestige Assurance, NEM Assurance, Sunu Assurance, Regency Assurance, Veritas Capital Assurance, Universal Insurance, Coronation Trust Insurance, Sovereign Trust Insurance, Cornerstone Insurance, Custodian, Alliance & General, Industrial & General, Goldlink Insurance and African Alliance.
While expressing displeasure over the absence of the chief executive officers of the companies invited by the panel, Laori vowed that the House would not leave any stone unturned in its quest to complement President Bola Tinubu’s resolve to shore up revenue for the country.
He said: “We have insisted that the CEOs appear in person, so that they can answer some of these questions. As you have seen, one of the companies’ CEOs sent somebody who could not answer any of those allegations that are before the committee.
“That is why the committee still made this order: It is only the CEO who will appear in person. It is in the public domain that the National Assembly is saddled with the responsibility to ensure compliance with statutory provisions. And where there are leakages in the revenue that should accrue to the Federal Government, it is our duty to put a stop to that. ”
The four state-owned refineries located in Port Harcourt (two), Kaduna and Warri have been the subject of controversy in recent times, owing to claims and counterclaims of their production capacity.
While Nigerians were excited over the news by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) former executive led by Mele Kyari that the Port Harcourt refineries had resumed the refining of crude products a few months ago; President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, recently deflated that optimism, when he said that the refineries may never work again.
This prompted the Chairman of the Committee, Henry Okojie, to declare the readiness of his team to launch an investigation into the state of the refineries, particularly against the backdrop of a statement credited to the present Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, that all four refineries might be sold.
Ojulari had expressed worry over the gap in technological evolution, coming short of saying that the four refineries do not have what it takes to compete in today’s complex petroleum refining business.
