Edo North senator Adams Oshiomhole has alleged that Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s daughter was employed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) outside the company’s regular recruitment process.
Mr Oshiomhole made the allegation during an interview on Mic On Podcast hosted by Seun Okinbaloye.
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The former Edo governor spoke while defending his conduct during the Senate Committee on Public Accounts’ investigation into alleged discrepancies in NNPC Ltd’s financial records and the controversy surrounding a proposed arrest warrant for former NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari.
Fresh allegations
In the interview, Mr Oshiomhole claimed that several influential Nigerians, including legislators, had relatives working in NNPC.
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“Myself inclusive. The second is my response to the former chief financial controller of NNPC, whose tenure the investigation covers, who pointedly said to the committee that it is you people. And now I know that the Senate President said his daughter was taken by Mr Kyari and put in, well, as Nigerians we say, in a juicy position that he probably didn’t merit.
“They all have employed their children, their uncles, their cousins, and their in-laws in various aspects of NNPC and put them in different positions. If they carry out the payroll of NNPC, you will find that they’ve turned the top level to a family business.”
He, however, argued that employment of relatives was not necessarily improper if due process was followed.
“You can only make an issue if you give them a job they did not merit, they are not qualified for, and you didn’t follow the right procedure.
“Well, somebody told me that the Senate president’s daughter was taken without, not through a regular interview, not through the normal, but that is his own problem.”
Mr Oshiomhole did not provide evidence to support the allegations.
Background to controversy
The comments come amid heightened scrutiny of NNPC following the Senate Public Accounts Committee’s investigation into an alleged ₦210 trillion discrepancy flagged in reports by the Auditor-General of the Federation covering 2017 to 2023.
Last week, the committee threatened to recommend an arrest warrant against Mr Kyari after he failed to honour several invitations.
However, the Senate later distanced itself from the move, ruling that only the Senate president has the authority to approve such a warrant and directed committees not to issue similar threats without approval.
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During the probe, Mr Oshiomhole had also described NNPC officials as a “bunch of criminals and thieves,” remarks from which the Senate subsequently dissociated itself.
Messrs Oshiomhole and Akpabio are members of the ruling All Progressives Congress.
When contacted, Mr Akpabio’s spokesperson, Eseme Eyiboh, told PREMIUM TIMES that under the principle of the rule of law, the burden of proof rests on the person making an allegation.
“But for the benefit of doubt and in the interest of your inquiry, none of Senator Akpabio’s children work in NNPC Ltd or its subsidiaries,” he said.
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