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Probe NNPC Subsidy Fraud Now – ADP
The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has mandated the National Assembly to wade into the subsidy controversy and probe it.
In a statement issued in Lagos last Saturday by its Lagos spokesman, Prince Adelaja Adeoye, the ADP said that the discrepancies in the subsidy claim have further created tensions, controversies and doubts in the minds of Nigerians.
While he explained in details some of the issues that have emerged from the process, Adeoye called on the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki to urgently set up a committee to look into the subsidy controversy.
According to ADP, “The current fuel scarcity that has left Nigerians in a sorry state, in this festive season, has revealed monumental fraud in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), through its involvement in secret payment of subsidy.
“This is of huge significance because, the Buhari’s government had told Nigerians that subsidy was removed in early 2016,” the party said.
The party further said that in the wake of the present fuel scarcity, the President Muhammadu Buhari-led All Progressives Congress government had blamed the problem on major oil marketers, whom it alleged were asking for an increase in the pump price of fuel.
However, the oil marketers later countered the allegation, maintaining that their problem with the government, was far from the alleged demand for pump price increase; and went on to reveal that they were being owed huge sum by the Federal Government in subsidy payment.
The revelation, immediately prompted an outcry from Nigerians who demanded to know what subsidy the marketers were talking about, taking into account that the Buhari government had told the nation, in early 2016, that fuel subsidy has been removed, a development, which led to the increase in pump price from N87 to N145.
The party said that in its explanation in May, 2016, through Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, the Federal Government said that “First, the real issue is not a removal of subsidy. At $40 a barrel, there isn’t much of a subsidy to remove.
“We realised that we were left with only one option. This was to allow independent marketers and any Nigerian entity to source their own foreign exchange and import fuel. We expect that foreign exchange will be sourced at an average of about N285 to the dollar, (current interbank rate). They would then be restricted to selling at a price between N135 and N145 per litre.
What this meant was that marketers were importing fuel and selling as dictated by the market forces, with little government regulation to avoid excessive pricing of the sales of fuel to the Nigerian masses”.
Also speaking with Nigerians in October, 2016, in an interactive session in Berlin, Buhari said, “There are things that are happening, and if such had happened before, there would have been major riot, like the removal of subsidy on fuel.”
These are the reasons ADP said it was in total disbelief to hear that there was still anything called subsidy, associated with fuel.
“In a swift reaction, and to cover this fraud or probably to silence Nigerians who kept demanding for an explanation of this sudden subsidy claim,” the party noted that “Osinbajo told the nation that NNPC and not the Federal Government is responsible for the subsidy payment.
“NNPC and not the Federal Government pays for the fuel subsidy that has emerged with the N171 landing cost as against the official retail price of N145,” the ADP quoted Osinbajo as saying.
ADP said “This new claim has further angered Nigerians who couldn’t figure how NNPC became responsible for subsidy payment and not the Federal Government, more so that as an agency of government, NNPC can only spend money within the budget. Meanwhile, there has not been any budget for subsidy for two years running.
“Now to avoid the probing questions of Nigerians, NNPC GMD, Maikanti Baru, while responding to questions at Aso Rock Villa, after the Friday prayers, said that Buhari authorized the payment of subsidy for fuel.
“The practice has been that every monies collected by all Federal Government agencies and parastatals are mandatorily paid into the Treasury Single Account (TSA), from where approval is given for withdrawal, by same agencies in line with their budget. What this means is that NNPC has either not been paying into TSA or has been short paying. We must remember that just recently, a House committee discovered the sum of N50billion in NNPC secret account, outside the TSA. The NNPC was quick to say, Buhari ordered it to put the N50billion into such secret account. This is besides the $25billion contract it awarded without due process, which it also claimed, Buhari authorised,” the ADP argued.
The ADP, therefore, called on the Senate to do the needful by investigating the NNPC’s subsidy fraud, to save Nigeria from the monumental fraud supervised by Baru and his team at NNPC.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.