The Project Coordinator of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, Professor Nenibarini Zabbey, has been threatened with a warrant of arrest by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts if he fails to appear before it on Tuesday next week.
The ultimatum for his appearance was handed down by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday, which is chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada, representing Nasarawa West Senatorial District.
The committee expressed concern over how the HYPREP coordinator had failed to honour several summons from the Senate, insisting that his failure would not be tolerated this time.
HYPREP had, in November 2023, disclosed that $360 million had been released for the clean-up of the polluted Ogoniland in the Niger Delta.
Angered by the behaviour of the project coordinator, who the committee said had failed to appear seven consecutive times, Wadada insisted that sanctionable sections of the Constitution would be invoked by the Senate Public Accounts Committee.
He said the committee intended to conduct an inquiry to ensure transparency, efficiency, and accountability in the Ogoniland clean-up project.
According to him: “Concerned that several invitations had been sent to HYPREP to appear and give explanations on issues arising from its submission on the status of its operations, the Committee is concerned that the Project Coordinator has persistently, over the last two years, flagrantly refused to honour legislative invitations.”
He said the coordinator must be compelled to give explanations on appropriations for the project and other intervention funds, particularly to tell the Senate how much he has received.
“Details of utilisation of appropriations in the 2022 budget, an additional sum of N6.6 billion in 2023 for some undocumented contaminated, abandoned sites, and details of utilisation of 2024 provisions.
“Provide evidence of remittance to the Federal Inland Revenue Service on value-added tax and withholding tax for the years 2022 to 2024. General and current state of the Ogoniland clean-up,” he said.