Senator Jarigbe Agom, the committee's lead chairman, expressed dissatisfaction with the Steering Committee on the Presidential Compressed Natural Gas Initiative (PCNG-I) for refusing to provide an accounting of its operations at the Ministry's 2024 budget defense session.
The legislators charged that the Steering Committee had neglected to submit an accounting of the funds from the N500 billion authorized for palliatives in order to further the usage of CNG across the nation.
While praising President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his audacious plan to switch from using fossil fuels to natural gas, he emphasized the necessity of establishing an appropriate framework via the Ministry of Petroleum Resources that includes an open budgeting system.
He expressed sorrow that there had been no advancement and that Nigerians were suffering as a result of the subsidy reduction.
"The P-CNGI has embarked on a fundraiser, which comes up tomorrow, in order to extort funds from so-called stakeholders," he claimed in an attempt to obtain self-help.
He stated that as a parliament, they are not in favor of carrying out government initiatives in defiance of the law.
"Without funding for the CNG Project and other crucial Projects in the Appropriations Act, we cannot accomplish what the President desires.
"The Citizens will suffer as a result of this action, which will simply create a window for fraud.
For the goal of advancing CNG throughout the nation, he declared, "Let it be on record that the P-CNGI Steering Committee cannot account for the Funds already provided from the 500 billion Naira approved for Palliatives."
He asserted that the Joint-Committee's responsibility was to make sure that resources were allocated effectively to progress the petroleum industry in our country.
"Transparency, effectiveness, and sustainable development within the Ministry, NNPCL, and its subsidiaries are the cornerstones of our supervision duty.
"I implore all interested parties to have frank discussions and offer perceptive feedback in order to help create a budget that is in line with our country's aspirations.
Together, let's tackle issues, take advantage of chances, and protect the rights of the people we serve. I am grateful for everyone's commitment and diligence in promoting our petroleum industry.
"We are aware that in a speech delivered to Nigerians on October 1, 2023, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria vowed to lessen the agony of the average person by implementing palliative measures to lessen the impact of the removal of subsidies. Mr. President further pledged to support the Federal Republic of Nigeria's Natural Gas Revolution Policy by constructing Training Workshops and offering CNG Conversion Kits.
The Joint Committee is quite disappointed that certain Projects and Palliatives are not included in the 2024 Appropriations Bill, which the Committee has access to.
There is nothing here or there about the Ministry of Petroleum Resources' budget. It does not represent the President's policy direction regarding the Gas Decade and the use of compressed natural gas as a substitute fuel source. A 5.8 billion dollar capital budget for a ministry that is essential to realizing the federal government's natural gas revolution policy and easing the suffering endured by the masses seems incredibly inconsiderate.
He reiterated, "We want to emphasize that the Federal Government of Nigeria owns the NNPCL in its entirety. As such, the National Assembly is authorized to oversee the NNPCL and its subsidiaries in accordance with Sections 88 and 89 of the Federal Republic of Nigeria Constitution."