The House of Representatives yesterday ordered the immediate probe of the alleged act of negligence by the Ministries of Justice and Petroleum Resources leading to the award of a $9.6 billion judgment debt against Nigeria in the gas swap deal involving the Federal Government and the Irish firm, Process and Industrial Development Limited .
Consequently, the green chamber is constituting a 15-member ad hoc panel drawn from its committees on Justice, Public Procurement, Finance and Petroleum Resources to summon the affected ministers and other officials to shed light on all that transpired resulting in the huge award by a British arbitration court.
Ihonvbere had observed that the judgment debt was punitive, as it could affect the national economy that currently boasts of only $45 billion in foreign reserve and a debt overhang of over $80 billion.He maintained that the ruling exposed a deep decay in governance and leadership with far reaching implications for the credibility of the country’s capacity to handle business and legal cases.