The Senate on Wednesday named a replacement to take over the legislative assignments of the late Senator Ifeanyi Ubah, who passed away on July 24 in London.
Ubah, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC, Anambra-South), was the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream).
He also chaired the Senate Ad Hoc Committee empanelled to probe the Turn Around Maintenance (TAM) of the country’s four public refineries.
He had yet to complete the probe when he died at the age of 52 years.
On Wednesday, the President of the Senate, Sen. Godswill Akpabio, named Sen. Suleiman Abdulrahman-Kawu (NNPP, Kano-South) to assume Uba’s responsibilities as both a standing committee chairman and an ad hoc committee chairman.
Akpabio made the announcement just as he also read to his colleagues the burial programme of the late Ubah.
He directed Abdulrahman-Kawu to assume control of the committees and “conclude all investigations, especially the turn-around maintenance of the refineries.”
The Kano lawmaker was the chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports until the latest development.
Meanwhile, Abdulrahman-Kawu, in an interview with Senate correspondents, pledged to confront the “cabal” behind the hydra-headed challenges in the petroleum sector.
He spoke of plans to first engage the public and collate their views on what they consider to be the root causes of some of the recurring issues.
“Our first step will be to study the current situation and gather information from relevant agencies,” Abdulrahman-Kawu said.
The lawmaker highlighted the importance of holding public hearings, which he said would allow citizens to voice their concerns and experiences directly in the hands of industry operators.
According to him, his administration hoc committee will focus specifically on reviewing contracts awarded by previous administrations and overseeing the current contracts for refinery repairs.
“We need to ask the hard questions and hold a public hearing to allow Nigerians to express their views,” he added.
Speaking of transparency, Abdulrahman-Kawu also disclosed that he would engage stakeholders, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and refinery operators, to understand the barriers to efficient production and accountability.
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