Lawmakers, activists urge action on Lawan Report

[TheNation]

  Bassey & Yishawu   Members of the Lagos State House of Assembly and environmental rights activists have urged the Federal Government not to limit the punishment of subsidy probe to refund of money as recommended by the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management.

Deputy Whip of the House, Hon. Rotimi Abiru and member representing Eti-Osa 2 constituency, Hon. Gbolahan Yishawu, said the committee has done a good job by asking all those found culpable to make refunds, but pointed out that “asking them to refund some amount of money is not enough.”

Abiru said:“Asking the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) to make refunds is not sufficient; the Goodluck Jonathan government must ensure that these set of culprits are brought to book. They must be punished to serve as deterrent for those that might want to commit such crime in future.”

The lawmaker expressed disappointment that the NNPC could make unconstitutional deductions from the country’s oil income and pay to some people.

Yishawu said: “Some of us had canvassed that the purported figures bandied by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led Federal Government as justification for the removal of subsidy in January were fraudulent.

“Now we have been proved right by the report of the Farouk Lawan committee submitted to the House of Representatives on Wednesday. To me, it is a monumental disgrace that the agencies of the Federal Government such as NNPC, PPPRA apparently operated as laws unto themselves.

“The subsidy regime, as we suspected, had been turned into a huge bazaar, a free-for-all market where all manner of unwholesome activities were being perpetrated.

“It is unfortunate  that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other law enforcement organs are only just being prompted to investigate such level of criminality allegedly perpetrated by one Accountant General who paid out N999 million 128 times within 24 hours to unknown entities.”

The Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN) said Nigerians would not accept any attempt to impede the implementation of recommendations of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy Management.

ERA/FoEN, in a statement issued in Lagos, gave thumbs up to the Farouk-led committee for what it described as a “courageous job”, and demanded that the executive arm of government demonstrate genuine commitment to its anti-corruption crusade by bringing individuals and companies which ran foul of the law to book and recovering all the stolen monies.

ERA/FoEN Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey said: “While we hail the House of Representatives for this courageous job, we are totally shocked by the shameful collaboration between government officials and their importing collaborators who have over the years stole our people blind. We will not go to bed until every dime stolen from Nigerians under the corruption-streaked so-called subsidy regime is recovered.

“Aside recovery of the funds, that the committee also established that if local refineries were able to refine 235,000 barrels of the 445,000 barrels they are allotted daily, they would still be able to refine 40 million litres of petrol and 10 million litres of kerosene, vindicates our position that lies and thievery with the consent of top government officials is indeed responsible for the shortfall in supply of petroleum products across the country.”

Bassey said the final computation of oil borne by consumers is yet to be arrived at and fraught with lies. He said the ecological costs such as communities whose farmlands and rivers are regularly polluted without remediation have not been factored into the entire cost.

Bassey said: “The findings of the committee are indeed telling because we now know that it is the polluted communities in the Niger Delta and the ordinary Nigerian on the streets that actually subsidise the thieving companies and their friends in government who deploy some of their proceeds to the political parties.

“Nigerians refuse further punishment in the much-touted fight against corruption in the fuel import scam. We register our support for the full implementation of the recommendations of the Farouk-led committee. All monies stolen must be recovered and the identified perpetrators whether politically appointed or career civil servants presiding over these events should resign or be immediately fired. Anything short of this will not be accepted.”



TheNation