•We’ve recovered N29bn – Minister
From: AMECHI OGBONNA, JULIANA TAIWO OBALONYE and WALTER UKEGBU Abuja
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, disclosed yesterday how 50 oil marketers stole N232
billion subsidy even as she said that N29billion had been recovered by
the Federal Government. She did not reveal names of the culprits.
The recovery is also part of an estimated N1trillion so far
identified by the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede’s probe committee as having
been illegally paid to dubious petroleum product importers since 2009.
Dr Okonjo-Iweala, who gave the update on the ongoing probe of oil
marketers in Abuja, said the government has re-invested part of the
money while using part of it to defray commitments on the subsidy
payment.
She explained that government was still bent on prosecuting all those
identified by the Aig-Imohkhuede committee no matter how highly placed
to ensure that no one pockets public money and go scot-free, warning
that government would not be deterred by any blackmail by the affected
marketers. According to Okonjo –Iweala, the government which has
briefed the anti-graft agencies appropriately, would make more
recoveries as more culprits in the subsidy scam are gradually brought to
book. She, however, assured that genuine importers would continue to be
paid subsidy claims after thorough verification.
Speaking at the ongoing 18th Nigeria Economic Summit at Transcorp
Hotel, Abuja, the minister regretted that one of the unpleasant outcomes
of the probe was that it has slowed down the speed of disbursement of
the 2012 budget since her ministry would now need to peruse every
payment to ensure that only genuine obligations are honoured.
She said: “ We are going through forensic investigation because it is
the kind of work that requires indepth investigation and that is
because we want to do a thorough job on the matter because Nigerians
want the government to take corruption out of the way so that we can be
like other nations of the world where things are done properly” On fears
that a lot of investments had not taken place because of corruption in
the oil and gas industry, the minister stated, “I think we actually have
a good theory.
We have a long way to go and a lot of work to do. I think for me, it
is the issue of resource leakage in the economy and to our revenues. And
there is also no doubt about the issue of oil theft because of the loss
of 200,000 barrels per day. We have to deal with it so we can plough
those resources back into our revenue. She assured that in line with the
directive to thenewly-appointed service chiefs recently, Mr. President
charged them to deal with this issue of oil theft. She recalled that
under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the nation recorded leakages
of 150,000 barrels per day and the government was able to successfully
reduce it to about 50,000 barrels and even beyond. “So, what I am saying
is that we can do it, we have done it before and we must do it.
We also need to elicit the help of the international community
because people are there buying this oil illicitly. So, it is a question
of not just us but also trying to tackle those who are coming to our
shores, stationing big ships and siphoning our oil. Of course, we have
to do our own work, it starts from us, so I am not running away from
that. But ultimately, we also have to work with international market.
And you know that Mexico for the first time is experiencing the same
thing. Mexico is presently losing about 25,000 barrels per day but they
are very concerned that criminal elements have gotten into it and that
it could escalate. They are going all out to try and fight it. So, that
is the first thing. “The second has to do with the subsidy issue and the
fuel payment activities. And then, I think we actually have a good
story to tell.
Nigerians made it clear that corruption has to be taken out of this
subsidy payment and we focused all year on doing that. The presidential
task force headed by Aig-Imoukhuede that verified slightly over a N3
trillion has come out with very detailed work. Of course, there was the
work done in the National Assembly, but we went into it in details to be
able to really determine what transaction had or had not been
fraudulent. “You need forensic experts, examiners, forensic auditors we
took 15 or 20 of them from Price Waterhouse and the Central Bank.
They have been working for more than four months now on this
detailed, painstaking transaction by transaction verification of
independent marketers for over a N3 trillion. “Last week, the work was
submitted to Mr. President and of the amount verified, they have
determined the N232 billion finally. You know they came out with N270
billion initially, now they are out with N232 billion claims of oil
subsidy that are not substantiated or fraudulent. So, 50 marketers some
of them are clean and there are some of them that are not clean.
The report had been submitted, this had taken so much work and it has
slowed down the pace on which we are making 2012 payments. It has
enabled us to put in place a series of steps. We have fired auditors who
were helping when we saw that they were not doing the work, we have new
ones with very clear terms of reference on how they are to verify the
oil being brought in to make sure it’s really brought in.
We have taken care to ensure that before we pay again and again to
make sure that the payment we are making for 2012 are valid and did not
support the problems of 2011. Yes, that slowed down the pace of payment,
but it is because we are responding to what Nigerians want. Even if
marketers who are not doing the right thing are crying about it, we will
not yield, the government will not yield to those cries until we make
sure we are doing the right thing.
“Now of the N232 billion that had been put forward as “fraudulent”
claims, some of those marketers say government owed them money, we are
right now able to hold N29 billion of that. So, instead of paying them
we are recovering what they owe us. So, my singular hope is that out of
this we would have recovered eventually that amount of about of N29
billion and will be looking to recover the balance of the total.
Some of those people are being chased and prosecuted and the EFCC and
the ICPC are still investigating this. “So, this is one area where we
have done thorough forensic work. It has yielded changes in the way we
verify payments, slowed it down, though it is painful, but we have found
out how many of such claims are fraudulent, we have clawed back some of
the money now about N29 billion, we are prosecuting people and we have
continued to pay marketers whose claims have been verified.
We have never stopped paying because all these issues about queues
and so on, of course, sometimes the marketers have said unless you pay
us we are not going to bring in oil, but we have not yielded to any of
that kind of stress or even blackmail, we have continued to do our work
and we will continue to pay those who are clean.” Okonjo-Iweala said.
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