Senate Queries Petroluem Ministry Over Duplication Of Project Figures

Chief Vincent Ogbulafor, National Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) (4th left) cutting a tape to unveil the Mascot/Logo of the 17th National Sports Festival. With him are Engr. Tele Ikuru, Rivers State, Deputy Governor (3rd right), his Anambra State Counterpart, Dame Virginia Etiaba, Alabo Tonye Graham-Douglas, former Minister of Sports, and other dignitaries, in Port Harcourt, last Tuesday.

 Despite spirited efforts of the ministry of Petroleum to defend the inclusion of N5 billion for three  Gas projects in the 2010 budget, the Senate Committee on Gas has rejected the N5 billion provided for the projects in the 2010 budget on the basis that the projects have earlier been listed as completed.

 The committee members said they are dismayed by the inclusion of another  N5billion for a gas pipeline projects supposedly completed in the 2009 fiscal year and expunged  the fresh provision for that in the current appropriation bill.

Chairman of the Senate committee on Gas, Senator  Izunaso Osita in strong terms told Minister of State for Petroleum, Odion Ajumogobia that the N5billion appropriation in the 2010 budget of the Ministry would not be approved.

“The committee will not appropriate fund for projects that have listed as completed. We are not going to approve this” Izunaso said.

Senator Patrick Osakwe, was the first to query the N5 billion provision in the ministry’s budget

Minister of state for Petroleum, Mr Ajumogobia  along with officials of his ministry including the Permanent secretary in the effort  to justify the N5billion appropriation but couldn’t convince them, promised however  to present fresh documents to justify the provision on a later date.

The projects for which the N5 billion is earmarked are  gas projects from Obiobi to Umahia at a cost of N2billion; ELPS to Ekiti at a cost of N1 billion and GTS1 to Obigbo (domestic sector) at a cost of N2.5billion for the year 2010.

According to the ministry officials, “in view of the current emphasis on gas project, the ministry considers it is necessary to establish Gas Spur line to feed Calabar-Ajaokuta and Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano pipelines”.

Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Elizabeth Emurem said the N5 billion request was to make up for the Zero allocation – for gas project in the 2010 budget proposal but the committee members did not buy that.

The committee  queried the N8 billion proposed for the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), demanded for more details for it to take action on the 2010 budget and also  heard how it over-valued some of the gas projects appropriated for in the 2009 Appropriation and other discrepancies in various projects being executed by the ministry.

“There are still some discrepancies from what the Due Process office submitted to us; these gas projects were over valued; we have them as report from the Due Process office and for such projects we are not going to appropriate money for such projects again.” Senator Izunaso asserted.