NNPC and N5tr fuel subsidy
Last week, the Senate alleged that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to account for N5.1 trillion it collected as fuel subsidy. According to Senate, Nigeria paid N9.93 trillion as subsidy during the subsidy regime, out of which independent marketers received N3.83trillion while NNPC got N5.1 trillion as its 51% share of fuel imports between 2006 and 2015. Accordingly, the Senate has decided to investigate what became of this money. This decision was reached after Senator Dino Melaye (APC, Kogi) raised a point of order. He said, “While we are prosecuting the independent marketers whose proceeds from subsidy are about N3.83 trillion, NNPC collected a total of N5.1 trillion as subsidy and this has never been investigated.”
He said it was time to open “the books of NNPC as regards petroleum subsidy. We have taken the lead in the fight against corruption in this chamber and I want to say, Mr. President, we must do everything within our powers to investigate and bring whoever is found wanting to book.” Senate President Bukola Saraki asked Melaye to submit a substantive motion on March 1. He said, “It’s a very serious issue [that] goes to the core of the fight against corruption, and also the issue of NNPC which is a great source of revenue for all of us and we will wait for that motion tomorrow.”
It was easy to see Saraki’s hand in the renewal of the crusade against fuel subsidy mismanagement. After all, it was Saraki who, during the last Senate, pointed to subsidy mismanagement during President Jonathan’s administration. However, at that time, private companies (some of which were alleged to have submitted water instead of oil) were seen as the main culprits. Therefore, if Senator Dino Melaye, one of Saraki’s main allies in the current Senate is seen calling for an extension of the probe to NNPC, it’s easy to attribute it to the Senate President.
When the independent marketers were found to have declared the same cargo multiple times in 2012, NNPC itself was alleged to be complicit in the cheating but the focus of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was more on the private companies and individuals. Many of them were named and shamed during the investigation. Therefore, the NNPC has not received the scrutiny such as what the Senate is now calling for.
It would appear that NNPC’s offences are many. In 2012, according to a Wiki Leaks cable which quoted Mr. Chris Finlayson, Chairman and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation of Nigeria (SPDC) and Femi Otedola, President and CEO of Zenon Petroleum and Gas, oil marketers overcharged NNPC by over $300 million by falsifying the dates of bills of lading. It stated that while it took weeks for ships to arrive Lagos from Persian Gulf, England and Venezuela, some of the bills showed that it took only a day for them to arrive. “Discrepancies were found when comparing dates on the bills of lading with dates of landing in Lagos,” the document said.
It is not clear if the Senate would include 2012 revelations or if this would be a standalone probe. However, on this matter, we are united with the Senate on the call for NNPC to account for the subsidy money it received. The matter is even more important now that former officials of NNPC, such as the former Group Managing Director Andrew Yakubu, are accused of being in possession of huge monies, more than N3billion, found hidden in a decrepit house. Also, we cannot in good conscience hold private individuals accountable for wrongdoing while ignoring the possible commission of the same offence by government agencies and public officials.