Article 88 of the Nigerian Constitution, 1999, as amended, empowers the Legislature to conduct inquiries into matters over which it has power to make laws and into the conduct of any person or ministry charged with certain responsibilities.
Known as Oversight, it is a legislative body created by the Constitution to redefine the role of checks and balances in a democracy.
In this way, the legislature is able to review and evaluate projects and programs implemented by the executive and judicial branches of government based on the revenues allocated, to improve accountability.
However, the recent visit of the 10th Senate leadership, led by the Senate President, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio CON, to the $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, has expanded the jurisprudence on audit responsibility beyond government-owned enterprises and redefined the scope of the audit function.
The visit to the facility has enormous socio-economic significance as it comes at a time when Nigerians are facing unprecedented economic hardship due to the withdrawal of oil subsidies.
The site visit to the private enterprise is not only seen as part of the legislative interventions in the recurring challenges of the domestic oil industry, but has also gone beyond a simple conference exercise, becoming a more people-centered and results-oriented constitutional mandate.
The MPs spent hours inspecting the refinery located at Ibeju-Lekki in Lagos, covering an area of about 2,635 hectares. The project is the world’s largest 650,000 barrels per day single-train oil refinery with a 900,000 tonne polypropylene plant.
The facility, funded by Nigerian industrialist and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, is expected to transform Nigeria, currently dependent on imports, into a net exporter of petroleum products.
The success story of Dangote Refinery is proof that with diligence, dedication and commitment, as well as an enabling environment, Nigeria can become a global investment hub. It is also a challenge to successive governments in Nigeria that a private refinery can succeed in the same country where four government-owned refineries, 2 in Port Harcourt, 1 each in Warri and Kaduna, are not operating.
The role of refineries in the socio-economic development of any oil-producing country cannot be overstated. They refine crude oil into petroleum products that are used to improve land, air and sea transportation logistics, heating, road infrastructure, electricity generation and feed stocks for chemical production.
It is a sad commentary that Nigeria, with its huge oil fields, cannot boast of functioning refineries, but still relies on fuel imports. The lawmakers’ visit, therefore, allowed them to see things with their own eyes and also raise questions as to why other gigantic and ambitious government projects in Nigeria have met their untimely demise or are running below installed capacity.
These projects include the multi-billion Naira Ajaokuta Steel Company in Kogi State, the Ikot Abasi aluminium smelter, the Sunshine Battery Company and the Oku Iboku paper mill, all in Akwa Ibom State.
By undertaking the visit to the facility, the lawmakers not only took Parliament to the people but also gained first-hand information on the factors hindering Nigeria’s industrialization efforts, which will put them in a better position to enact laws that will support the government’s policy on ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Section 4 [2] of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, empowers the National Assembly to enact laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation or any part thereof in relation to any matter included in the Exclusive Legislative List.
The aftermath of the visit to the Dangote Refinery and Petro-Chemical Company has sparked a series of accusations and concerns about the management of the country’s hydrocarbon resources and assets.
Unquestionably, the Senate leadership’s oversight visit to the Dangote refinery prompted the Senate leadership’s recent inauguration of its ad hoc committee to investigate activities in the oil and gas sector and recommend legislative action.
Furthermore, the innovative reforms in the Senate’s oversight accountability also took into account the presidential directives given to NNPCL to sell crude oil to local refiners in the local currency, the Naira.
With the knowledge gained during the visit, policy makers are now better informed to have an overview of the tax incentive regimes in Nigeria for a possible review to encourage the growth of local businesses and attract foreign direct investment into the country.
It is exciting how the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio CON, summed it up when he said during the visit that the legislature would not hesitate to enact laws to improve tax exemptions, where necessary, for genuine investors in Nigeria.
Such tax exemptions will lead to improved job creation, transformative satisfaction of local demands and generation of export earnings. The Senators’ visit to the refinery and their statements on the matter have given the necessary assurance and confidence to private investors that the current administration is ready to create the enabling environment for their businesses to grow.
Before the Senate delegation left the compound, Senator Akpabio inaugurated the Dangote Sino CKD West Africa Limited truck, another mammoth project, which has already provided employment opportunities to Nigeria’s large youth population.
Indeed, the Senate leadership’s visit to Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals, a private company, underscored the determination of the 10th National Assembly, under the Presidency of Senator Akpabio, to follow the renewed hope agenda of the administration of President Bola Tinubu and come up with effective legislative interventions on the various socio-economic challenges currently besetting the nation.
As the nation grapples with the challenges of skyrocketing cost of living, insecurity and unemployment, the benefits accrued from the Senate intervention and presidential directives will very soon usher in a regime of drastic reduction in the prices of petroleum products and the general cost of goods and services.
● ♧Honorable Eseme Eyiboh
He is the special advisor for media and publicity to the President of the Senate.
The article Senate Oversight, Dangote Refinery and Presidential Directive, by Rt Hon Eseme Eyiboh first appeared on TheConclaveNg.