Fuel subsidy: NNPC, CBN, petroleum ministry shun Senate hearing 'As Senate threatens to deal with defaulting agencies

THE probe of N1.3 trillion petroleum subsidy by the Senate ran into a hitch on Thursday, following the refusal of officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Ministry of Petroleum Resources to appear before the joint Senate committee investigating the subsidy issue.Chairman of Senate Committees on Petroleum (Downstream), Senator Magnus Abe, who heads the investigating committee comprising committees on petroleum, finance and appropriation, said the Senate would not hesitate to wield the big stick against any of the invited agencies which did not appear at a later date.He said the committee could not do much on Thursday because many of the invited agencies did not show up, adding that the powers of the Senate, as contained in sections 88 and 89 of the constitution, were clear.Only the Minister of Finance and coordinating minister in charge of economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, appeared at the meeting, though she could not present her brief, as she took excuse from the committee to enable her to appear at a later date.Senator Abe had, earlier on Tuesday, told newsmen that his committee was yet to receive responses from the NNPC, the CBN, ministries of petroleum and finance on the subsidy issue.'I don't think that the Senate will send three of its committees on a mission and we will come back without getting anything,' he said, adding that the executive and other arms of government ought to know that the Senate was embarking on a national service.
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