The House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions has summoned the Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr Dakuku Peterside; and the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Simbi Wabote, for allegedly awarding over N30.32bn contracts to a Dubai-based company in breach of the Local Content Act.

They are to appear before the committee on Tuesday (today).

The committee is acting on a petition by the Civil Liberties Organisation, dated August 15, 2018, which alleges gross abuse of the Act by Topaz Dubai and Team Offshore Nigeria Limited.

Chairman of the committee, Uzoma Abonta, who issued the summons, said Peterside and Wabote were invited to explain their alleged failure to stop the huge capital flight through the firm, Topaz Marine Dubai, which executed contracts awarded by three oil multinationals in violation of the Local Content Act.

The Chairman, CLO, South-South zone, Karl Uchegbu, in the petition before the House, alleged that Topaz Marine Dubai, which came to Nigeria in 2012 exploited loopholes it discovered to circumvent the Local Content Act in its business of offshore support services in the oil and gas sector.

•Excerpted from a Punch report