Abuja
23 July 2008
Nigeria's House of Representatives is beginning an investigation intothe country's oil industry. Gilbert da Costa in Abuja reports for VOAthat top industry officials are scheduled to testify before a specialparliamentary panel at a public hearing.
Nigeria's oilindustry will come under scrutiny this week in Abuja as the House ofRepresentatives holds public hearings on alleged under-handed dealingsin the sector.
The anti-corruption unit, the Economic andFinancial Crimes Commission, says an estimated $500 billion were stolenbetween 1960 and 2007 in Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oilexporter.
Political interference, embezzlement andadministrative lapses have turned the state-owned petroleum company,Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, into a huge cash-cow for thecountry's rulers.
Soji Apampa, of the anti-corruption groupIntegrity, says putting the spotlight on Nigeria's most strategicindustry is a huge step forward.
"The probe of the oil and gasindustry in Nigeria is a very welcome one because it is one of thoseindustries that are still encased in lot of dark practices," said Apampa."Insufficient light had been shed on it thus far, and as we have seenthe probes that had taken place so far in the National Assembly, weknow that their value is in bringing some level of transparency to thehappenings in a particular sector."
A parliamentary committee ofinquiry earlier this year reported widespread irregularities in theaward of oil concessions handed out during the era of former presidentOlusegun Obasanjo.
Nine out of 10 Nigerians live on less than $2 a day, their lives blighted by poor infrastructure and alack of public services resulting from decades of endemic corruption.
Nigeriaregularly ranks among the most corrupt in the world, and analysts saythis constitute a deterrent to foreign investment and impediment togrowth.
A parliamentary committee reported Tuesday that abouthalf the revenues collected by government agencies were not paid toNigeria's treasury.
"About 3.6 trillion [about $3 billion] hasactually been generated as internally generated revenue. Ofthis amount, about 1.5 trillion has never found its way into governmentcoffers," said John Eno, who heads the House of RepresentativesCommittee on Finance.
President Umaru Yar'Adua, who promised to tackle graftwhen elected in 2007, has been criticized for making slow progress onthe issue.