The Federal Government is sabotaging efforts to make public the names of individuals who turned the government fuel subsidy into a drain pipe, Edo State Governor Comrade Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole said yesterday. �
Oshiomhole said was a member of the economic committee constituted by late President Umaru Musa Yar?adua with a mandate of reviewing the vexed petroleum subsidy. He said the committee also had the renowned economist, Bismarck Rewane, and representatives of the NNPC and other stakeholders as members.�
Speaking at the 41st annual accountants? conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in Abuja yesterday, the governor said in the course of the committee?s work, it discovered that there existed some individuals who floated companies to collect fat cheques even without importing fuel.
?We recommended that the federal government should appoint international auditors to audit the whole process since the local auditors seemed to have colluded with government officials. We also urged the government to make public the companies and individuals doing importation of fuel and benefiting from the subsidy but that was the last the day the committee held. It was disbanded forthwith,? Oshiomhole said.
He declined to say if he is in support or against the proposed removal of oil subsidy by the federal government but further accused federal government of not being transparent in its dealing.
The former labour leader said if transparency and accountability were imbibed by state and non-state actors, the country would be better for it.
He said ?As far we know, diesel for long is deregulated, in the same strength the so called black oil is also deregulated and the kerosene as far we are concerned is also deregulated because the N50 they fixed nobody can get it at that rate. So on Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), what is your consumption per capita. We need to know who is taking what.?
{pullquote}We also urged the government to make public the companies and individuals doing importation of fuel and benefiting from the subsidy but that was the last the day the committee held{/pullquote}
He said when the price of oil went down to $45 per barrel, the committee advised the government to bring down the pump price of the petroleum which was then N70. But Oshiomhole said the advice was messed up by the then minister of Petroleum, Dr Rilwan Lukman.
?By the time the government decided only N5 was removed, and it was reduced to N65. The price of oil had gone up then and now when you speak of subsidy removal; it is only understood in the context of paying higher cost,? he said.
He said it was curious that the price of crude has not gone below the $75 per barrel benchmark in the budget but each month, he receives report from his finance commissioner that some money had been taken from the excess crude account to augment.
Accountant General of the Federation Mr. Jonah Otunlah in his reaction said money was often taken from the excess crude account as augmentation to balance the account when revenue for the month falls below expectation.
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