Lawmakers angry as Agip shuns summon over alleged N80m debt

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has once again summoned the management of Agip Oil Company over an alleged N80 million owed to a local contractor, De Coon Services Ltd.

The chairman of the committee, Michael Etaba (PDP, Cross River), issued the summons on Thursday after the management refused to appear before the panel.

During the hearing, Etaba said the committee summoned Agip after a petition was submitted to the House, noting that Agip shunned the invitation.

He stated that it was unfortunate to neglect paying an indigenous company for a job well done while patronising foreigners for the same work.

In his remarks, the CEO of De Coon, Nelson Onubogu, said his company did some work for Agip, and NNPC Limited has paid for the job; however, Agip has refused to transfer the funds to his company.

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“They owe my company over 80 million dollars paid by NNPC Limited. The NNPC Limited has paid the money, but it was diverted out of Nigeria. Agip Oil Company used some cronies to take this money out of Nigeria, and they refused to pay the Nigerian company. Agip took all my cancelled contracts and gave them to my own staff while they were working for me,” Onubogu alleged, stressing that he won’t accept anything less than the full payment from the oil giant.

“All I am saying here is that Agip should pay my money; Agip should be mandated by the NNPCL to pay my money. I don’t believe in middle ground; the right thing should be done; they owe me, and they should pay my money and restore all my contracts as awarded to me. There are rules and regulations for terminating and awarding contracts in Nigeria,” he said.

Speaking on the issue of the non-appearance of Agip, a member of the committee, Matthew Nwogu, said the action of the oil giant was disrespectful.

“It’s unfortunate that people who are supposed to be accountable to Nigerians are not. When a committee like this is mandated by the constitution to handle issues concerning the lives of Nigerians, it summons an organisation, but the refusal should call for worry.

“I don’t know who is protecting whom, but no one is above the law; the only people who have immunity are the governor and president,” he said.

The committee subsequently ruled that Agip must appear on June 26 or face legislative action.