Controversial senator, Dino Melaye, has accused marketers in the oil and gas industry of conniving with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to defraud the Federal Government on oil subsidy.
Melaye, who is a member of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, alleged that the marketers joined forces with the NNPC to defraud the government and Nigerians.
He said, “The marketers and NNPC had fleeced the nation in the past. Asking for more is like trying to mislead the committee into asking the Federal Government to pay more subsidy to banks.
“While we are prosecuting the independent marketers whose proceed from subsidy is about N3.83 trillion, NNPC collected a total of N5.1 trillion on subsidy and this has never been investigated and we are busy chasing independent marketers. The time to look at the books of NNPC as regards petroleum subsidy is now.
“We have taken the lead in the fight against corruption in this chamber and I want to say we must do everything within our powers to investigate and bring whoever is found wanting to book.”
However, the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria has tasked the Federal Government that it must continue the subsidy regime to end the on-going fuel scarcity.
The Executive Secretary of the association, Mr. Obafemi Olawore, explained that subsidy eases the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, and helps marketers’ efforts to meet local demand.
Olawore also decried the non-payment of subsidy arrears between 2013 and 2015 by the government, which he claimed had incapacitated fuel marketers who could no longer import the product to the country.
He said, “Our members are incapacitated and cannot import fuel owing to the non-payment of the arrears and the interests. The banks are always adding their interests at the end of every month.
“We had a promise from the Central Bank of Nigeria that the aspect of interests would be stopped at a certain period of 2017, but that did not come to pass. So, the banks, at the end of every month, are charging interests.”
According to him, two out of six major marketers imported fuel into the country in 2017 to cover some specific customer needs.
“These are mainly those that have their foreign affiliates, who could cover them in terms of dollar,”
he added.
