Fuel Subsidy Scam: TUC Urges Action

The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC), Rivers State, has commended the Hon Farouk Lawan-led committee of the House of Representatives for exposing the massive and unprecedented looting of the national treasury through the fuel subsidy fund.

Chairman of the Rivers TUC, Comrade Chika Onuegbu, made the commendation while speaking with newsmen in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

The TUC boss, said the disclosure by the House of Representatives Committee was a follow up to the January 2012 anti-fuel subsidy removal strike, and expressed dismay over the scheming of some highly placed Nigerians to kill the report over their indictments.

Comrade Onuegbu also decried the reluctance by the Federal Government to take action against the Head of Service of the Federation despite the discovery of another “unprecedented” looting of pension funds under his watch.”

Consequently, he called on all Nigerians to rise up and protest against the massive corruption in the country and resist attempts by some top placed and affected officials to kill the report.

The TUC Chairman called for the prosecution of all affected persons no matter how highly placed, as a deterrent to others involved in the act.

On how much Nigeria spends on fuel subsidy, he said the key players who should know gave different figures, to demonstrate the lack of synergy among government agencies and ministries. The coordinating minister for the economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had claimed before the panel that the federal government had paid N1.4 trillion on fuel subsidy in 2011, the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi gave N1.7 trillion, while the house committee said fuel subsidy could hit as much as N2 trillion, if documents at its disposal were to be considered.

The Hon Lawan-led adhoc committee unearthed the high level of abuses in the system and how Nigeria is being shortchanged by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and a cartel that involves fuel marketers and importers of petroleum products. So disturbing are the facts that concerned Nigerians are now so angry, that they are calling for the heads of some ministers.

Among those indicted by the report were the NNPC, PPPRA, the Budget office, the Accountant-General of the Federation, three Audit firms and indeed 35 marketers who were found to have orchestrated the huge fraud in the subsidy scheme.

The adhoc committee on its part recommended, among other things that the Executive Secretary of PPPRA, between 2009-February 2011 be properly investigated and punished for the official recklessness he exhibited in handling the board’s decision to reverse the qualification for participation in the scheme. The  committee sited allocation/approvals given 35 companies even before their formal registration with PPPRA as classic example of his indiscretion.

Observers believe that President Goodluck Jonathan deserves commendation for summoning the strong political will to stir up the probe, which his intended removal of fuel subsidy actually actuated.

Rivers State Deputy Governor, Engr Tele Ikuru (left) exchanging pleasantries with former Governor of Rivers State, Chief Rufus Ada-George at the requiem mass of late Eze Epara Rebisi, Eze S.N Woluchem at St Paul’s Cathedral , Diobu, Port Harcourt, on Saturday