- As Court dismisses NOUN graduates’ suit over law school
The Senate is set to investigate the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), it’s Group Managing Director, Mr Maikanti Baru, following allegations of insubordination by Baru, against the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr Ibe Kachikwu.
This was sequel to a motion on “Allegations of Corruption against NNPC Trading: Time to Conduct a Holistic Investigation sponsored by Chairman Senate Committee on Ethics and Privileges Sen. Sam Anyanwu during Wednesday’s plenary.
Subsequently, the Upper Legislative Chamber is not only to investigate the allegations made against the GMD by the minister as contained in his leaked letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, but also certain aspects of the NNPC, particularly a JV, Duke Oil.
Debating on the motion, Anyanwu said that the NNPC Trading Limited was a business creation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation
“NNPC Trading is composed of the following outfits, Duke Oil; Hyson/Carlson (JV); NAP Oil (JV); and West Africa-Gas LTD (JV);
“Duke Oil was incorporated in 1989 in Panama and therefore, does not pay tax in Nigeria;
“Duke Oil was specially registered to play a dominant role in the trading of petroleum products especially crude oil trade in the international oil market several years ago.”
He said there was general lack of transparency and level playing field in favour of Duke Oil to lift products without payment as against its competitors in the sector.
“This relationship has helped to greatly stifle the growth of indigenous companies operating in the sector,” Anyanwu said.
Contributing, Sen. Yusuf Yusuf (APC-Taraba) said when it came to NNPC, investigating just a part of it was not going to solve the problem.
“We have tried with NNPC to come with records and they couldn’t. I support the motion and at the same time the holistic investigation of NNPC should go beyond the NNPC but other trading companies like Duke and others should also be investigated.
“Unless we do that, NNPC in the past 15 years have been above everybody in this country. They think they are a government to themselves and so we have to take the bull by the horns since we want to fight corruption, we must fight it in its entirety,” he said.
The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki thereafter constituted an ad hoc committee to investigate the matter and report back to the senate as soon as possible.
“The committee should take the issue seriously “as it is a matter that really go to the roots of what we have committed to Nigerians in stamping out- corruption”.
“We hope that the quality of the report will continue to meet the standard we have set in this 8th senate.”
The committee would be headed by Sen. Aliyu Wammako (APC-Zamfara) while the members included Senators Tayo Alasoadura (APC-Ondo), Kabiru Marafa (APC-Zamfara), Albert Bassey (PDP-Akwa-Ibom), Sam Anyanwu (PDP-Imo), Ahmed Ogembe (PDP-Kogi).
Others are Senators Chukwuka Utazi (PDP-Enugu), Rose Oko (PDP-Cross River) and Babakaka Garbai (APC-Borno).
In the meantime, a Federal High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit filed by a group of graduates of the National Open University of Nigeria.
Some graduates of NOUN had approached the court over an alleged refusal by relevant authorities to grant them admission into the Nigerian Law School.
Justice Hilary Oshomah, who ruled on the matter on Wednesday, explained that gaining admission into the Nigerian Law School was tedious, adding that studies should not be on part-time basis.
Justice Oshomah, who made reference to the Legal Education Act 2004, section 1:1, pointed out that relevant authorities had the statutory power to put rules and policies in place with a view to setting the standard of admission for students into the Nigerian Law School.
He dismissed the relief sought by the plaintiffs, who claimed that the refusal by the relevant authorities to admit them into the law school infringed on their rights, adding that the court would not grant the students’ request because admission into the Law School was guided by rules and policies.
Striking out the case, Justice Oshomah described the reliefs sought by the plaintiffs as a misconception.
However, counsel for the Council for Legal Education, Mr. Mark Agwu, maintained that admission into the Law School was not and would not be based on sympathy or semantics.
“In as much as we appreciate the hardship the students have encountered either through resources and time, the legal profession is highly conservative and it cannot be compelled by law to admit students into the school,” Agwu added.
Speaking with journalists, counsel for the plaintiff, Professor Amuda Abiodun, explained that the matter could be resolved administratively , even though they had lost the case.
Additional report from Punch