The Senate expressed disapproval of what they see as hindrance to the Federal Government’s refinery revitalization efforts, despite the substantial expenditure of N11.35 trillion on the maintenance of the non-functional refineries. To address this concern, the Senate has decided to task its Committee on Downstream Petroleum with investigating all contracts awarded for the rehabilitation of state-owned refineries from 2010 to 2023. Their goal is to monitor progress in ongoing refinery works to prevent wastage and corruption.
Furthermore, the Senate intends to engage with the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) to determine the most effective approach for commercializing and ensuring profitability of state-owned refineries. They also plan to invite the NNPCL, NUPRC, and LNG to discuss the nation’s readiness for Green Energy Sources in line with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
The Senate has also raised the urgent need for security agencies to probe the circumstances leading to the Otukpo bank robbery attack on Friday, October 20 which claimed the lives of nearly of 8 persons including 4 police personnel. It also called for an unravelling of reasons behind the lack of intelligence and alertness on the part of the police on the day of the attack.
For the motion moved by Senator Abba Moro (PDP, Benue South) the Senate also observed a minute silence in honour of the dead.