Africa-Press – Gambia. Chief of staff Mod K Ceesay has said the findings of the National Assembly investigation committee is weak in the case of Gam- Petroleum General Manager Yoro Jallow.
Among other things, the enquiry committee in the so called Russian oil scandal, said Mr Jallow unfairly denied ullage to local oil marketing companies (OMCs) at the national depot to favour Apogee FZC, the importers of the Russian oil.
The National Assembly investigated the suspected dubious importation and sale of petroleum products from a Russian ship and recommended for the immediate suspension of Mr Jallow, as well as for criminal perjury proceedings to be initiated against him for “deliberately misleading” parliament.
According to the committee, Jallow acted as an “agent” for Apogee FZC in the sale of the oil by introducing them to local oil marketing companies and that he was “not truthful” in his testimony and complicit in a range of “institutional failures” and “conflicts of interest” that facilitated “preferential treatment, regulatory evasion, and monopolistic practices” in favour of Apogee FZC.
Speaking on the matter at a government special press conference attended by several ministers in response to anti-corruption protest group GALA on Friday, Finance Minister Seedy Keita disclosed that government has acknowledged the parliamentary investigation and has referred the recommendations to relevant authorities to investigate and advise. However when asked what is the executive’s position on the recommendation to suspend the Gam- Petroleum boss, Chief of Staff Mod K Ceesay replied: “Besides the legal consideration, the charge against Mr Jallow, was that he was unfairly allocating storage space to that extent of unfair treatment in the allocation of ullage. But the investigation and the substantive evidence that supports that was quite weak. There was ample space in the depot.”
Ceesay further argued that even if that was the case, why couldn’t similar recommendation be made against a certain private storage facility, where some of the Russia oil also found its way anyway.
He said at the time, local OMCs have literally boycotted the depot and were not going there.
“In fact, it was this gentleman [Yoro Jallow] who initiated and made engagement to attract even half of the space that gets occupied. He was desperately looking for people to come and patronise the space at the depot,” Ceesay said.
“But like Justice Minister Jallow has said, not all recommendations are binding, there is a responsibility to look into it, and on the benefit of the merit, address it,” he concluded.
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