EFCC Awaits Report On Subsidy Fund

The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, says the commission is waiting for the reports of the senate and the House of representatives investigating the alleged N1.3 trillion spent on fuel subsidy last year by the federal Government.

Lamorde told a delegation from civil society organisations led by African Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) that the commission is ready for partnership with any individual or group.

Pointing out that the reports would guide the EFCC in taking appropriate action on the matter, he said the on-going petroleum subsidy probe was in the large context of combating economic and financial crimes in the country.

He noted that the commission was desirous of getting information from other (CSOs) to enable it achieve the mandate of looking at the subsidy regime and its management in the past, adding that the House had concluded its proceedings while the Senate probe is still on-going.

He said, “we are waiting for these two reports and we would merge their reports with the KPMG report. We are just waiting for the two chambers to concluded their investigations before we can move to the next level of our investigation. But as it were, we have gone very far”.

The EFCC Chairman said the commission has been able to get a lot of materials from independent souces that are involved at different levels of the administration of the subsidy regime.

The independent sources according to him, include tank Farm Operators, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Customs and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) among others.

In his response, the Executive Director of ANEEJ, Rev. David Ugolor said his organisation is one of the leading civil society organisations working on revenue transparency in the extractive sector in Nigeria.

He stated that the group came to identify with the leadership of the EFCC and to follow up what the commission was doing and to support Lamorde to succeed, adding that “prophetically, I have told Lamorde that we would together. The same Nigerians that would want people to succeed in office will not give the necessary support needed to succeed in office. That is why we are here to partner with you”.

The EFCC had recently summoned 38 oil companies over N1.3 trillion allegedly spent on fuel subsidy in 2011.