Reps Panel To Lay Report Of OVH Energy Acquisition Probe

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating the alleged fraudulent acquisition of OVH by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) is set to lay its report on floor of Green Chamber as it resumes from the two months recess.

LEADERSHIP reports that the House is set to resume from its annual recess on Tuesday, September 26, 2023. The Green Chamber had embarked upon the vacation on July 27.

Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee, Hon. Hassan Nalaraba who spoke after the oversight function/facility tour of OVH Energy assets acquired by NNPCL in Lagos, assured that the panel’s report will reflect its findings and recommendations.

Some of the assets inspected by the Ad-hoc Committee include: Storage facilities located at Apapa Terminal 1, Ikeja Aviation Terminal, Parking Store/Warehouse located in Apapa, ASPM Jetty at Admiralty Channel, among others.

The lawmakers also saw a 6 million litre for AGO, 23 million litre storage for PMS, ATK, Storage Tanks, former OVH head office, 17 million litre Lubricant Blending Kettle located within the Lubricant Plant, Jetty and host of others.

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Dipo Makinde who conducted the lawmakers round said, NNPC Retail has Drum Production Plant in Kaduna State and reiterated the resolve towards gaining more from the value chain, with the expectation of growing dividends up to 80 percent that will go into the Federation Account.

While responding to questions on the use of Oando brand seen during the facility tour Makinde assured the Ad-hoc Committee that NNPC Retail is gradually drawing down on the usage of Oando brand.

He disclosed that the Plants have operational licences and assured that necessary measures have been put in place to ensure safety of all the equipment within the Plants.

The NNPC Retail’s General Manager for Depot and Jetty, Moses Irene, said NNPCL jointly owned Terminals with Total Energies in Lagos, two in Port Harcourt and One in Rivers State.

The NNPC Retail official, said since the ASPM Jetty facility can handle 1 million litres per hour against about 500,000 litres on the average, it reduced the time that marketers wasted awaiting for vessels to come into the area.

“At the conception of the facility, we were saving over N250 million per month as demurrage,” the official added.

In his remarks, Hon. Nalaraba explained that the petitioner alleged that OVH was fraudulently acquired by NNPC Limited and some of the assets which NNPC Limited claimed to have do not belong to them, adding that some of the assets were even leased before the acquisition or after the acquisition.

“The House deemed it fit to set up the Ad-hoc Committee to investigate the wrong processes and in the cause of our investigation, we invited G

group executive officer, Mele Kyari. He (Kyari) appeared before the Committee, he briefed the Committee on the process of the acquisition.

“We also invited the regulatory agencies which is Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority, he came and he also gave us his own brief and from the two briefs we received so far, we are looking at the briefs and we know very well that both of them from their submissions, there was no wrong doing in the process of acquisition.

“It’s in that regard that we now came to Lagos to see those assets that are owned by OVH and from what we’ve seen today, we’ve gone to the Aviation Terminal, we’ve gone to their Lubricant, we’ve also gone to ASPM Jetty.

“We saw how important those assets are, and how important those assets could add value to the general operations of the NNPC Retail outlet. Furthermore, what will equally discovered was the operational process of the OVH and NNPC,” he noted.

The lawmaker assured that the Ad-hoc Committee “will definitely go back to Abuja, we would sit down and examine what they presented to us and what we’ve seen is in consonant with what they (Petitioner). Honestly, we are going to write our report and present it to the House, when the House reconvene next week.

“And from what we have seen and what the GMD said about the profit made in the first quarter, NNPC made about $18.4 million. We saw the process where those profits come from and it’s a good one for Nigeria. And I think it’s going to add more value and more revenue to Nigeria and then the downstream sector.

“So, we are here, we’ve investigated, we’ve oversighted most of the assets and we’ll go back, write our report and submit it to the House, when it reconvenes. Honestly, we’ve seen a lot, we’ve seen those assets practically and those assets actually belong to NNPC Retail.”