Onwuka Nzeshi
7 July 2009
Abuja — House of Representatives Committee on Public Procurement yesterday warned that it would press for sanctions against French oil multinational, Total, if it continues to flout Nigerian laws in the award of contracts.
The Committee said it had investigated a petition lodged against Total Upstream (TUPNI) and found that not only had the oil firm disregarded directives from the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on award of contracts, but had deliberately frustrated implementation of the Public Procurement Act and the local content initiative.
This is the second time in two months the House Committee on Public Procurement will be clashing with Total Nigeria. The Committee had early last month, summoned Managing Director of Total Upstream Nigeria (TUPNI) Limited, Mr Guy Maurice, over allegations of breach of contract and undermining of the local content policy of the Federal Government in the oil and gas sector.
The summon followed a submission by an indigenous marine contracting firm, Tilone Nigeria Limited, that it was short-changed in a contract deal in respect of Remotely Operated Vehicles Services in Total's Akpo Field Development Project about three years ago.
Sub-Committee Chairman of the House Committee on Public Procurement, Honourable Matthew Omegara, said at a news conference yesterday, that the lawmakers were prepared to follow up the matter to its logical conclusion and ensure that oil multinationals doing business in Nigeria do not continue to take the country and its citizens for granted.
Omegara said TOTAl truncated a particular contract bid process when it was clear that a Nigerian company was on the verge of clinching it.
He said it was a "classic case of disrespect to constituted authority," for the oil firm to ignore directives of NNPC and National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) on the issue, adding that whereas these industry regulators had directed TOTAL to conduct the contract bid process transparently and devoid of arbitrariness, the firm denied the indigenous company the right to the contract it won in the bid process, and awarded same to a foreign firm.
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