Nigeria’s
parliament is to discuss a report said to reveal that $6bn (£4m) has been
defrauded from the fuel subsidy fund in the past two years.
“A member of the House of
Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on Subsidy Management, Dr. Ali Ahmad,
has alleged that companies owned by past and serving governors, ministers
and top politicians were involved in the fuel subsidy scam.
The Farouk Lawan House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee on the
Management of Fuel Subsidy had in its report alleged monumental fraud in
fuel subsidy payments”. Punch
The debate will be televised live – and make official findings that have
been widely leaked in recent days.
The fuel sector probe was set up in the wake of angry nationwide protests in
January after the government tried to remove a fuel subsidy.
Nigeria
is a major oil producer but has to import most of its fuel.
The 205-page parliamentary report uncovers a long list of alleged
wrongdoings involving oil retailers, Nigeria’s Oil Management Company
and the state Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation.
According to the leaks, a total of 15 fuel importers collected more than
$300m two years ago without importing any fuel, while more than 100 oil
marketers collected the same amount of money on several occasions.
The leaked report also says that officials in the government of President
Goodluck Jonathan were among those who benefited from the subsidy fund.
Many of the people named in the document have denied any involvement in
fraud, with some taking out full-page adverts proclaiming their innocence in
local newspapers.
Many Nigerians were livid when they were told by their government that the
fuel subsidy was economically unsustainable – only to now find out the scale of
fraud in the operation of the fund, our correspondent says.
Despite being a major oil producer, Nigeria has not invested in the
infrastructure needed to produce refined fuel, so has to import much of its
petrol.
The annual $8bn subsidy means prices are lower than in neighboring countries
– and correspondents say many Nigerians see cheap fuel as the only benefit they
get from their country’s oil wealth, much of which is pocketed by corrupt
officials.
After a week of street protests and a general strike, the government agreed
to restore some of the subsidy – and reduce the pump price of petrol to 97
naira (about $0.60) per liter after it had doubled to 140 naira when the
subsidy was removed without warning on 1 January.
But President Jonathan defended the subsidy cut, saying Nigeria must
either “deregulate and survive economically, or we continue with a subsidy
regime that will continue to undermine our economy.”
Sources: BBCNews, Punch
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