The House of Representatives on Tuesday summoned Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of 14 major oil companies operating in Nigeria in the bid to avert breakdown of law and order in the oil-producing communities in Delta, Abia, Imo, Bayelsa, Rivers among others.

Chairman, House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, Hon. Nicholas Ossai issued the directive at the investigative hearing into various petitions initiated by the oil companies held at the instance of Joint Committee on Treaties, Protocols & Agreements and Petroleum Resources (Upstream).

They are Managing Directors of South Atlantic Petroleum Nigeria Limited, Shoreline Petroleum Limited, Conoil Nigeria Limited and Energy Nigeria Limited, Niger Delta Company, MD Western, Orion Oil, Lee Engineering Limited, Aiteo, NSPDC, New Cross Oil, Sterling Oil Global Limited, Ran Ocean Oil, Eroton and Seplat Oil.

While frowning at the failure of the concerned authorities to honour the invitations sent by the Committee, Hon. Ossai observed that: “They have disrespected the House of Representatives by not appearing even last week and this week. And this Committee will not fail to deal with the issue squarely.”

The petitioners led by traditional rulers drawn from the affected communities solicited for the Committee’s intervention on the alleged flagrant disregard for the Memorandum of Understanding MOUs signed by the IOCS and host communities.

The community leaders also accused that both past and present Managing Directors and top managers of the major IOCs including Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Chevron Nigeria Limited CNL and Exxon-Mobil Nigeria Limited and other IOCs of fraud in the implementation of MoUs, adding that they had shown disregard for honouring agreements. (Nigerian Tribune)