Very Good Job But …That Reps Subsidy Probe Report

After the very damaging integrity question raised against the House of Representatives’ committee drafted  to probe Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on the activities of the Capital Market, a lot was expected of the one appointed to unearth the rot surrounding the subsidy regime. It was even more so, in view of the agitations by Nigerians during and after the nationwide strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) early January, this year to protest the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as petrol.

At some point, skeptics even asked, if the Federal Government was actually subsidising petroleum products. Others wondered how what did not exist could be removed. But generally, Nigerians detested the hike in prices of petrol to N141, on account of subsidy removal and insisted on return to status quo.

Since then, Nigerians have had to pay between N180 and N300 per litre, even when the price was eventually pegged at N97. That situation, government sources explained, was caused by artificial scarcity created by marketers and importers, apparently to arm-twist government into continuous under-writing of fuel importation needs.

All these added to the huge expectations of Nigerians , in hope that the outcome of the House’s Adhoc committee probe into the subsidy regime, would help address, in a lasting manner, the ever fluctuating fortunes of the downstream sector of the economy and its negative impact on the citizenry .More important, it was largely hoped that the exercise will also help unmask the dreaded fuel cartel.

As largely expected, when the Hon Farouk Lawan-led committee, last Wednesday  eventually presented its report to the House, after, about three weeks  of very revealing public hearing, it was indeed a mixed pack of sour grapes, a big shame of the nation and a classic example of  man’s insatiable greed for earthly treasures. Among many others, the report revealed how in barely 24 hours, January 12-January 13, 2009, the office of the Accountant General of the Federationpaid out N99,000,000 in 128 times; how 35 companies were granted allocation/approval to import petroleum products even before their formal registration with the Pipeline Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and indeed how the PPPRA deliberately promoted transborder smuggling by importing 59million litres of PMS when local consumption is not more than 35 million liters per day.

On the question of how much Nigeria spends on fuel subsidy, the key players who should know also gave different conflicting figures, further demonstrating 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 Governor of Central Bank, 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.

Generally, 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) in an unholy matrimony with a cartel that involves fuel marketers and importers of petroleum products. So disturbing are the facts that concerned Nigerians are now so angry, they are calling for the heads of some ministers.

Former Petroleum Resources Minister, Prof Tam David-West and the NLC have called on President Jonathan to fire incumbent Minister of Petroleum Resources and her Finance counterpart, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke and Dr Okonjo-Iweala respectively and prosecute all others indicted by the adhoc committee report.

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. Neither Allison-Madueke nor Okonjo-Iweala were fingered of complicity but Prof David-West insisted that the mere fact that the rot boomed under their watch meant they are unfit to remain in office and superintendent such sensitive government ministries.

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.

Shameful as these acts of  imprudence may seem, President Goodluck Jonathan deserves commendation for summoning the strong political will needed to stir up the probe, which his intended removal of fuel subsidy actually actuated. To be sure, fuel importation did not start under his watch,  and so, he could look the other way, receive part of the loot in bribes as in the past and let it remain business as usual. Instead, he opted to end it all through removal of subsidy.

Happily, the Reps Committee has indeed vindicated the president that the amount of corruption and the greed of the cartel was such that only a total removal of subsidy would be good enough to cleanse the system of its huge rot. Without that drastic step in January, the adhoc committee would not have found out the N1.1 trillion, it recommended must be paid to the federal government as misappropriated funds from the subsidy scheme.

Other recommendations include the appointment of two ministers of Petroleum Resources and proposal of N557 billion to fund fuel subsidy for 2012. These are alright but a lot still remains unaddressed.

For instance, by a presidential order, subsidy on kerosene was removed. So who takes  responsibility for over N300 million illegally collected on kerosene subsidy in 2011?  Why was the presidential directive disobeyed?

This and indeed the revelations during the public hearing of the adhoc committee informed the anger among Nigerians who are  today calling for the immediate implementation of the House committee report.

This is most understandable. What is not , is the House’s insistence that its rapport with the executive arm will be depended on how the federal government implements its recommendations. “The timely execution of the report will determine its (the House’s) relationship, with the executive arm of government”, said spokesman of the lower chamber of the National Assembly, Hon Zakari Mohammed.

Zakari, who was addressing newsmen on the adhoc committee’s report declared that the House would insist that the recommendations of the committee, when adopted, be fully implemented by the executive arm of government . On how to ensure that, Zakari was quoted as saying, “ we shall use all our legislative powers to ensure that after adoption, the report sees the light of the day”.

“It is simple. You know that there are certain things that the executive needs from the legislature from time to time. We will make it a pre-condition that unless this is done, we won’t do this. So, what are we talking about? We can take it from any angle”.

That approach is indeed dishonourable and a clear invitation to anarchy. It is not only siege mentality, it smarks of blackmail and arm-twisting. Like the House, the executive arm has the right to be independent minded.

Tit-for-tat in governance amounts to jungle justice and should be discouraged. If the lower chamber chooses to deny the executive arm’s request of a nature of urgent public need, and the executive in reprisal refuses to release funds to the National Assembly, then the latter opens impeachment proceedings and then the executive arm employs the state security on law makers, in a  ding-dong affair, where will the country be headed?

Instead, the House should first discuss the report, approve same, give it the necessary legal backing and ensure that a proper case is built for implementation by government. Otherwise any action against an indicted officer or agency will collapse like EFCC’s prosecution of former Delta State Governor, James Ibori- lack of merit.

What is instead required is the synergy which the adhoc committee found lacking among ministries, so that both the Executive and Legislative arms would, together, eliminate the wastage apparent in the  subsidy scheme and save the nation and her citizenry the near frequent cases of fuel scarcity, hike in price of the commodity and illegal bunkering.

To achieve that, no arm should play to the gallery or attempt to seek phoney popularity with the people but be procedural in action and reasonable in words to avoid more costly mistakes that would not only pitch the citizenry against government or even but also free the guilty and punish the innocent.

My agony is that it is only the Jonathan Presidency that has opted for such self-probe, while, others looked the other way only to incite, now and again, the  people against their government.

President Jonathan and Diezani Allison-Madueke