By CrossRiverWatch Admin
Two term lawmaker, Legor Idagbo has dismissed any insinuation that the investigation of the House of Representatives Committee on Local Content for alleged abuse of bidding, contracting and operational processes by Exxon Mobil against Nigerian owned companies was a witch-hunt.
The committee began it’s hearing on Tuesday and Idagbo, who represents the Obudu/Obanliku/Bekwarra federal constituency and heads the committee, averred that: “This investigative hearing is not a witch-hunt in any way.”
He explained that the investigation was in the best interest of Nigerians and posited that the House will not fold its hands if there were complaints by citizens
“We are all Nigerians and what is to the best interest of our country and our citizens should be paramount in our minds.
“There is no way our indigenes would complain to us and we fold our hands and not do something about it,” Idagbo said.
The Executive Director and Chief Financial Officer, Exxon Mobil, Segun Banwo, who represented the Managing Director of the International Oil Company, dismissed the allegations.
After taking submissions from the stakeholders, the committee adjourned for two weeks, while directing ExxonMobil to provide documents to back their counter claims at the next sitting.
The committee also demanded that the company’s managing director should appear in person.
The House had on Wednesday, April 21, 2021 accused Exxon Mobil of breaching local content laws in Nigeria, specifically, splitting contracts for procurement and favouring foreign contractors.
Representative Henry Nwawuba, made the allegation in a motion titled ‘Urgent Need to Investigate the Corporate Attitude of ExxonMobil against Indigenous Service Providers.’
And, following a unanimous adoption of the motion, the House urged ExxonMobil to ‘immediately stop further procurement activities on their catering contracts and reinstate the contractors who were disengaged without reasons from 2019 till date and mandated the Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring to, “investigate the matter by inviting the ExxonMobil Management, NAPIMS (National Petroleum Investment Management Services) and NCDMB (Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board) to appear before it and report back within four weeks for further legislative action”.
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