Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation, has finally agreed to appear before a house of representatives ad hoc committee investigating the illegal sale of 48 million barrels of crude oil in 2015.
Mark Gbillah, chairman of the committee, made this known on Thursday, April 20.
Gbillah noted that Malami will face the lawmakers on April 27.
The committee recently summoned Malami, and Zainab Ahmed, minister of finance, but they ignored the invitation.
Last week, Gbillah said that the committee obtained reports that Malami received funds from outside the country through the whistleblower policy but did not remit it to the federation account.
The committee chairman also noted that the minister of finance approved payments to whistleblowers which were not in accordance with the policy.
However, Gbillah, on Thursday, said that the AGF wrote to the committee that he will appear before the lawmakers with a “comprehensive response” on April 27.
He noted that, “We are in receipt of a letter from the AGF and the minister of justice who is averring his determination to respect the doctrine of separation of powers and to support our extant laws.
“He has indicated the fact that they are trying to put together the comprehensive response to the questions that have been raised.
“While we appreciate the attorney-general’s response, we would like to indicate that it came a lot later than we expected.
“So, we will appreciate it if the attorney-general and honourable minister provides these responses and also appear before the committee on Thursday, April 27.
“So, let’s give him the window to appear before the committee,” he added.
Gbillah further noted that Ahmed has not shown regard to the committee by responding to the query sent to her office.
He said that the committee will issue a warrant of arrest if the minister fails to appear before the lawmakers.
Gbillah noted that, “Unfortunately, the honourable minister of finance has still been evasive.
“The committee has not received any submission or response from the honourable minister of finance.
“The AGF sent a response and has not responded to our follow-up because we asked further questions about the information he provided us.
“But we want to call on the honourable minister of finance, to show regard and respect for the separation of powers as enshrined in our constitution and respond promptly to the request of the committee so that we can get to the bottom of our investigation.
“Like I already said, we are giving her the benefit of the doubt.
“We are not unmindful of the other powers we have and we are not afraid to exert them and we will do so if the leeway we have provided is still neglected and not recognized by the honourable minister of finance,” he said.
Recall that the house of representatives, in December 2022, set up an ad-hoc committee to investigate a whistleblower’s claims that 48 million barrels of Bonny Light crude were illegally sold in China in 2015.
The committee was also mandated to investigate all crude oil exports and sales in Nigeria from 2014 till date as well as the proceeds recovered through the whistleblower policy of the federal government.
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