House Summon them to appear

The House of Representatives has summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele; Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mele Kyari; and Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service, Col.

Hameed Ali (retd.); and the Director-General, Department of State Services, Yusuf Bichi.

The Federal Government officials were summoned for failing to attend an investigative hearing organised by the House on the moribund state of ports in the country, leading to the congestion and perennial gridlock at the Apapa Port, Lagos State.

The hearing held in Abuja on Thursday was organised by the House ad hoc set up to ‘determine why the Warri, Port Harcourt, Calabar, Onne and Onitsha inland ports complexes are not being put to maximal use.’

Also absent from the hearing was the Bureau of Public Enterprises and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, according to the roll call of invited stakeholders taken at the opening of the event.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Buba Yakub, had frowned at the non-appearance by the officials, who he described as critical stakeholders in the maritime sector, a major part of the country’s economy.

“This is a slap on the face of the institution, we will not condone it,” Yakub stated.

The committee, at the close of the hearing, after stakeholders in attendance had made their presentations, resolved that the absent officials must appear before the panel on Monday.

Yakub warned that the lawmakers would be forced to invoke their constitutional powers if those summoned failed to attend the next sitting by the panel.