News
Subsidy removal: Senate summons Kyari over fuel subsidy expenditure
The Senate on Tuesday resolved to invite the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to brief them on its under recovery expenditures and the company’s position on subsidy removal of the present administration.
This was coming after the adoption of a motion on the “Need to Investigate the Controversial Huge Expenditure on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) under the Subsidy/Under Recovery Regime by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)”.
The motion was sponsored by Senator Chinwuba Patrick (Imo East).
The Senate also resolved to “mandate the Committee on Downstream Petroleum Sector (when constituted) to constantly monitor, scrutinize and approve Midstream and Downstream spending of the NNPCIL; and
“Urge the NNPCL, in conjunction with some major international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria, to form three different consortium and build three refineries, one each to stabilize our oil market, give value to our currency and stabilize our economy.
Earlier Senator Chinwuba noted that the Federal Government, in its fight against corruption and in order to plug the presumed highly proliferated leakages, wastages and slippages surrounding the fuel subsidy as well as in an attempt to end the controversial subsidy regime, on May 11, 2016, announced increase in fuel pump price from N87 to between N135 and N145 per litre.
He said at the inauguration of the present Government on May 29, 2023, the President took a bold step to announce the total removal of “fuel subsidy”, noting that the scheme has “increasingly favoured the rich ¾more than the poor”.
According to the Imo senator, the Federal Government’s interest in exiting the subsidy regime was in line with its policy to reduce cost of governance, and desire to eliminate corrupt practices surrounding the scheme through diversion and smuggling of the products into border countries as well as introduce fair competition in the Downstream Sector.
“NNPCL within the period of subsidy exit attempt, substituted the term “subsidy” with “under recovery” without any recourse to the National Assembly or supervision by any other arm of the government.
He observed that “while NNPCL within 10 years, 2006 and 2015, claimed about N170 billion as under recovery, the same NNPCL within 13 months, January 2018 to January 2019 claimed a whopping sum of N843.121billion as under recovery
“Concerned that the then Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) published in its website, figures that contradicted NNPCL’s daily under recovery claims within the same period;
“The Federal Government appropriated N1.42 trillion and N4.3 trillion for petrol subsidy in 2021 and 2022 respectively while N3.6 trillion was appropriated for petrol subsidy for 6 months ending in June, 2023
“Worried that the NNPCL’s arbitrary and unsupervised direct deductions from the country’s crude oil revenue without recourse to any enabling law contravenes Section 89 (1c and 1d) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and does not speak well of the good intentions of the Federal Government, especially in its fight against corruption.
“Also worried that the uninvestigated and alarming cost of under recovery/direct deductions by NNPCL without necessary checks, has led to great misunderstanding of the Government’s good intension on subsidy removal”.
Former Director-General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Professor Tom Adaba, has passed away at the age of 84.
According to reports, he died peacefully on Saturday in Abuja.
Chief Adinoyi Joe Anivasa, Secretary of the Egbira Elders Forum, confirmed the news, stating, “I feel sad to inform you that our elder and leader, Prof. Tom A. Adaba, has answered the call of nature this morning. Further details about his burial arrangements will be communicated later.”
Born on July 2, 1941, Prof. Adaba made significant contributions to Nigeria’s broadcasting industry. Between 1988 and 1992, he became the first Nigerian to serve as President of the African Council for Communication Education.
Despite calls for suspension from the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and the Nigeria Police Force, the Osun State local government election proceeded as scheduled on Saturday.
Governor Ademola Adeleke voted in Ede North Local Government Area, describing the process as peaceful and urging residents to exercise their franchise.
The AGF, Lateef Fagbemi, cited a Court of Appeal ruling allegedly reinstating sacked local government chairmen, while the police warned of potential security threats.
However, the Osun State government insisted on holding the election, emphasizing its commitment to obeying a court directive. The opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) boycotted the polls.
Voting took place under tight security, with minimal commercial activity observed in Osogbo, the state capital.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Commissioner for Information, Jonathan Vatsa, has indicated that Firmer President Muhammadu Buhari’s absence at the public presentation of former military ruler General Ibrahim Babangida’s autobiography, The Journey of Service, held in Abuja on Thursday was not surprising.
Speaking to journalists in Minna on Saturday, Vatsa suggested that Buhari’s no-show was a result of unresolved bitterness over the 1985 coup, in which Babangida overthrew him and subsequently detained him.
According to Vatsa, Buhari may still harbor resentment, especially over being denied the chance to bid his late mother farewell while in detention.
“It Would Have Been the 9th Wonder of the World If Buhari Had Attended”
Vatsa claimed that Buhari’s absence was expected, given the deep-seated history between the two former leaders.
“The memory of the ‘mother of all betrayals’ has not left him. It would have been the ninth wonder of the world if Buhari had attended that book launch,” he said.
The APC chieftain also linked Buhari’s perceived neglect of Niger State during his eight-year presidency to his history with Babangida.
“The whole world knows that Niger State was made a scapegoat by Buhari because of IBB. For eight years, he did not pay any serious official visit to the state, and not a single federal project was executed here. The Baro Port project was abandoned, and federal roads across the state were left in disrepair,” Vatsa alleged.
He claimed that despite the overwhelming votes Buhari received from Niger State in 2015 and 2019, the state was sidelined due to the personal history between the former presidents.
“When two elephants fight, it is the grass that suffers. Niger State paid for the sin of one man,” he lamented.
When asked for his opinion on the contents of IBB’s autobiography, Vatsa said he would reserve his comments until he has read and digested the book fully.
“There are certain things I expected to see in the book. Once I am done reading, I will invite you all for my comments,” he stated.
The book launch attracted several high-profile attendees, including President Bola Tinubu, former presidents Olusegun Obasanjo, Goodluck Jonathan, and Yakubu Gowon, as well as former military head of state Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Other dignitaries included former Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo, former Sierra Leonean President Ernest Koroma, and ex-vice presidents Atiku Abubakar, Yemi Osinbajo, and Namadi Sambo, alongside traditional rulers and state governors.
Buhari’s absence, however, remained a major talking point, reinforcing speculations that the 1985 coup remains a sore point in Nigeria’s political history.
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