Lawmaker representing Edo North Senatorial District, Sen. Adams Oshiomhole, has defended his comment against the Nigeria National Petroleum (NNPC) Limited which he labelled a house of thieves.
NPO Reported that Oshiomhole had at a session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts yesterday labelled the NNPC a house of thieves with a reputation for fraud during a heated argument with the representative of former Group Chief Executive Officer of the company, Melee Kyari.
The argument ensued after the former Edo state governor raised a motion for the arrest of Kyari over repeated failure to honour the committee’s invitation for questioning on the financial misappropriation allegation against him.
His motion was adopted by the committee with the chairman, Sen. Ibrahim Dankwambo, ordering the arrest of the ex-NNPC boss.
This would however be dismissed during the Senate’s plenary session on Thursday.
The Senate Majority Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele, raised the motion for the dismissal of the arrest warrant as he noted that no Senate Committee has the power to independently issue, authorize, or execute a warrant of arrest without the approval of the Senate President.
Bamidele also distanced the Senate from Oshiomhole comments describing NNPCL as “a bunch of criminals and thieves,”
The red chamber held that the remarks do not represent the official position or findings of the upper chamber as it dismissed the arrest warrant.
Reacting after the adoption of the motion by the red chamber, Oshiomhole claimed to have uttered the statement out of provocation.
He claimed that the former NNPC administration had unjustly attacked the Senate leadership under Godswill Akpabio which aggravated him.
According to Oshiomhole, the NNPC had during the interrogation accused the lawmakers of nominating their children to work in the company.
“With regards to my use of words, thieves, I acted under provocation because your distinguished members were being attacked unjustly and I said I have a duty to defend all of us.
“My choice of words, even in matters of murder, if you can establish that you acted under extreme provocation, the court will take a second view.
“This Senate under your leadership was being attacked. Our collective integrity was called into question. You were accused of nominating your children to work in NNPC. And here we are asking questions about 210.” He said.
Oshiomhole explained cause of the argument which he linked to a N107 trillion fund the NNPC claimed to have been liquidated by some undisclosed banks and another N103 trillion expenses he claimed the company could not account for.
“What I want every member of the house to hear is that two issues that NNPC claimed that over 107 trillion Naira with banks have been liquidated without listing the names of the banks.
“Second, that about N103 trillion was spent on drivers and tankers carrying products on NNPC and they cannot account for it.
“Sir, I owe a duty to the Nigerian nation first. And may God punish me anytime I knowingly allow my responsibility to be compromised by people who think they have money.
“That is why I said among other things that the laws of the Senate will be meaningful when we use it to deal with people who have money who are lions harassing poor innocent civil servants.” He said.
Oshimhole reiterated that he only acted under extreme provocation over the missing fund and Kyari’s failure to honour the committee’s invitations
“Under extreme provocation that a man who cannot account for N107 trillion deposited into various bank accounts that have gone into liquidation.
“He did not name the banks. He did not name the amount and the auditor said this is not correct. Not my opinion, that was their auditor.
“Nine times Sir on your authority, we invited them and nine times he did not show up. Is that embarrassment to me or to you?” He asked.