NNPC Probes And War Against Corruption

The House of Representatives recently set up an ad-hoc committee to probe the Federal Government’s subsidy payments approved by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

The ad-hoc committee is the fallout of the controversy surrounding the huge payments  of N1.3trillion credited to petroleum products importers, including the NNPC, which made the President Goodluck Jonathan administration to announce the withdrawal of subsidy on petrol with effect from January 1, 2012.

The subsidy withdrawal, which triggered a one-week nationwide strike and protests by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Trade Union Congress (TUC), and civil society organisations (CSOs), brought to the front burner, once again, the critical issue of unbridled corruption in the oil and gas industry.

In the wake of the suspension of the industrial action by organised labour, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs Diezani Alison-Madueke, had announced sweeping measures to investigate the malfeasance and the corrupt manipulation of the subsidy regime by unscrupulous officials of the NNPC, including setting up committees to audit the process, and recommend strict disciplinary measures against those found wanting. The minister also requested the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to investigate those involved in the subsidy management process, and prosecute anyone found culpable of corrupt practices.

A Senate committee had also been investigating the alleged disappearance of N450billion from the Federation Account, after the National Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (NRMAFC) had accused the NNPC of diverting the said sum, which it claimed should have formed part of  the revenue from crude oil sales that was denied the three tiers of government in 2010.

Indeed, the efforts to unmask the sharp practices in the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry marks a turning point in the anti-corruption war of the Federal Government.  For us, this is the first bold step to fight corruption headlong in the country.

We say so, because, since the beginning of the House ad-hoc committee’s investigation into the subsidy saga, a whole gamut of inconsistencies have emerged from the various government ministries, departments and agencies that have volunteered information at the committee’s hearing.

From the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, PPPRA, Ministry of Finance to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), it is obvious that the manipulations that characterised the subsidy regime had been a conduit pipe for siphoning huge public funds at the detriment of the infrastructural development of the nation; and the wellbeing of Nigerians. If from a budget allocation of N450billion, the government had paid out about N1.736trillion as at December 31, 2011, we think that some people must be held to account for the money.

The Tide believes that the on-going probe of the subsidy regime, is a significant step in the fight against corruption in the country. Given that the oil industry is the nation’s largest revenue earner, and contributes more than 85 per cent of Nigeria’s Gross National Product (GNP), we feel that a successful war against corruption in the sector will be a great victory in the anti-graft crusade because other indices of sharp practices within the economy would naturally fall in line.

This is why we challenge the House ad-hoc committee probing the alleged sharp practices in the subsidy regime to ensure that no stone is left unturned in unravelling the sharp manipulations, those involved and their sponsors. The committee should also ensure that appropriate laws are invoked and the relevant anti-graft agencies engaged to arrest and prosecute collaborators in this menace.

Besides, the committee must critically examine the KPMG Audit Reports and the several audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), which indicted the NNPC, and ensure strict implementation of such damning recommendations. We insist that those indicted should be arrested, and prosecuted.

This probe should not be treated like previous inquiries into misappropriations in government, which till date have not gone beyond the submission of reports and recommendations; or empty promises to deal with those found culpable. The rot in NNPC has dragged this nation down for too long, and must be tackled now, once and for all.

The momentum created by the subsidy withdrawal, strike and eventual probe should not be allowed to fizzle out without those responsible held to account. This is the time to make a frontal attack against economic saboteurs, and ensure that the impact of the transformation agenda of government is felt by the ordinary Nigerian.