Nov. 6, 2013
The Senate Special ad-hoc committee on Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) chaired by Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), yesterday said it has uncovered a fraud in the management of monies accrued from the partial removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the federal government.
The panel which disclosed this yesterday during a public hearing on the management of the subsidy fund in Abuja, said from January 1, 2012 to September 30, 2013, the sum of N500 billion that was supposed to have been remitted to the SURE-P committee was unaccounted for.
The senators said based on the total amount of fuel imported and subsidy paid, the total sum of N800 billion was supposed to have accrued to the fund and not N300 billion. A committee member Senator Kabiru Garba Marafa (APC, Zamfara), who made the submission said: “(When) SURE-P committee was inaugurated it was to receive N32 per each litre of petrol consumed in Nigeria. We wrote the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the quantity of fuel being imported from the time the programme started and NNPC replied the committee that from January 2012. From that date to September 2013 will give you about 21 months.”
Senator Marafa said: “They gave us a break down of the quantity per month and when you put everything (together), it comes to roughly 25 billion liters consumed in the 21 months. So when you multiply 25 billion liter by N32, we will get about N800 billion but what SURE-P told us when they came here was that they have so far collected about N300 billion at N15 billion flat rate per month.
“Therefore the amount involved is N500 billion missing. That is what we wanted NNPC to tell us because they are the ones importing this fuel. We expect explanations from both NNPC and CBN.”
Meanwhile, minister of petroleum resources Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke and the NNPC group managing director Mr. Andrew Yakubu did not appear at the committee’s hearing yesterday.
Three of the CBN governor’s representatives were rejected by the committee. Senator Ningi insisted that either the governor or any of his deputies must appear in person.
 chaired by Senator Abdul Ahmed Ningi (PDP, Bauchi), yesterday said it has uncovered a fraud in the management of monies accrued from the partial removal of subsidy on petroleum products by the federal government.){kind=link}