The House of Representatives yesterday resolved to constitute an ad-hoc committee to investigate alleged malpractices by the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation (NNPC) in the crude oil swap contracts involving five oil companies, but some members of the House were against the move.

The contracts in question were brokered by the Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), a subsidiary of the NNPC, during the immediate past regime of President Goodluck Jonathan.

The decision of the House to look into the controversial deal followed a motion on the 'Urgent Need For a Forensic Investigation of the Contract known as 'Refined Product Exchange Agreement or Swap Contract'" sponsored by Hon. Michael Enyong (Akwa Ibom, PDP) at plenary.

He noted in the motion that the revenue of the country had plummeted due to leakages in the accounting system and mismanagement of the economy.

Those against the probe exercise hinged their objection on the fact that the sponsor of the motion did not provide adequate data to back his allegations while others said the exercise will amount to a duplication of functions as another agency of government was already investigating the matter.

Hon. Nnanna Igbokwe (PDP, Imo) asserted that there was no need for the House's intervention again since President Muhammadu Buhari had already directed the Department of State Services (DSS) to commence investigation into the matter.

For his part, Hon. Obinna Chidoka, (Anambra, PDP) opposed the motion, saying there were enough investigative reports on the oil sector which the House should revisit and take action instead of a fresh exercise.

Also, Prof. Mojeed Alabi (APC, Oyo) said the motion was lacking in research and data accuracy, and therefore called for more diligent work to provide the ground for meaning investigation.

Hon. Emmanuel Oghene (Lagos, PDP) supported the motion, citing the amount of money and unaccounted crude oil involved, adding that it cannot be wished away by the House, while Hon. Razak Atunwa (Kwara, APC) in his contribution faulted Igbokwe's assertion, adding that the gravity of the consequences of the oil swap arrangement on the nation should make it mandatory for the House to carry out its own investigation.

However, Enyong while leading the debate, revealed that the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) had, in its 2009-2011 and 2012 reports, ascertained that there was revenue loss to the tune of $8billion due to discrepancies between the value of the crude oil given out and the refined products delivered.

Enyong said that in 2011, there was a shortfall of 500,075, 32 litres of refined product by the five oil firms namely: Transfigura (173, 786, 600 litres); Vitol (654, 440 litres); Taleveras (152, 308, 878 litres); Aiteo Ltd (193, 045, 590 litres); and Ontario Oil & Gas (180,278, 732 litres).

"There is the need to ensure transparency and accountability by the NNPC in the management of revenue accruing to the nation from crude oil, particularly in the prevailing circumstances where major buyer of Nigeria's crude oil, the United States of America (USA), has discovered alternative sources," he said.

He further said that the concerns raised in the motion were in tandem with the anti-corruption stance President Muhammadu Buhari.

However, there were initially procedural bottlenecks to block the motion but members eventually voted in support of it and Speaker Yakubu Dogara referred the matter to a yet-to-be-constituted ad-hoc committee to address the issues raised.

"I sincerely believe that the allegations are grave enough to warrant a legislative intervention on our part," he said.