Reps probe NAPIMS over alleged illegal $260m contract

House to sanitise issuance of driver’s licence
To ensure transparency in governance, the House of Representatives is set to probe an allegation that a contract worth $260 million was awarded by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) without adhering to due process.

At the plenary session presided over by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, yesterday the lawmakers mandated its committees on Petroleum Resources and Public Procurement to ascertain the level of compliance with due process in the deal which took place on October 13, 2014, February 10, 2015 and April 16, 2015 and report back to the House within 4 weeks for further legislative input.

The resolution by the lower legislative chamber was sequel to a motion entitled “need to investigate the $260 million contract awarded by NAPIMS” sponsored by Babatunde Kolawole (APC: Ondo)

The lawmaker, while moving the motion, alleged that NAPIMS, a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), granted approval for Esso Exploration (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil) to award four single source contracts for projects in Exxon Mobil’s Usan Deep water project for $260 million without a tendering process.

Kolawole alleged that NAPIMS had through three memoranda dated October 13, 2014, February 10, 2015 and April 16, 2015 nominated four companies to execute the contracts in violation of due process and without approval from both the Board of the NNPC and its Group Executive Committee (GEC).

He noted: “There is need for the House to investigate the illegally awarded contract by NAPIMS. To further buttress my point, this contract was awarded by the NNPC without approval, violating due process. Government is continuum and it is expected that the matter is investigated.”

Gabriel Onyenwife (APGA: Anambra) who spoke in support of the motion remarked that it behoves on the National Assembly to investigate such matters since it would be in the interest of the

The lawmakers also mandated its Committee on Road Safety Commission to probe the alleged lack of integrity in issuance of driver’s licence and measures put in place to reverse the trend.

This followed a motion by Philip Shaibu (Edo-APC), who alleged that the Federal Road Safety Commission and the Vehicle Inspection Office, as the two agencies involved in issuance of driver’s licence, do not follow laid down rules.

The lawmaker added that the action by the agencies had compromised the integrity of the Nigerian driver’s licence and endangered the lives and properties of millions of Nigerian road users.

The lawmaker who argued that there is a direct correlation between the high rate of accidents in the country yearly and the capacity of driver’s plying the highway maintained that going by the rules, only licensed driving schools should train intending drivers who thereafter should pass a driving test conducted by an agency of government.