The National Conscience Party (NCP) has called on the federal government to disband the Aigboje Aik-Imuokhuede Committee if there is no hidden agenda behind it, and boldly admit that it has closed the file of the fuel importation scam.
The National Conscience Party (NCP) has called on the federal government to disband the Aigboje Aik-Imuokhuede Committee if there is no hidden agenda behind it, and boldly admit that it has closed the file of the fuel importation scam.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });
In a press statement signed by its National Secretary, Tanko Yunusa, NCP observed that since the House of Representatives indicted the cartel of economic saboteurs involved in the fuel importation scam last year the government has not hidden its desperate agenda to shield them from prosecution, treating the report first with disdain, and then reluctantly forwarding it to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission following public pressure.
“As the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission was rounding up its investigation the Ministry of Finance set up a technical committee headed by Mr. Aigboje Aik-Imuokhuede to conduct another inquiry with a view to discrediting the Report of the House,” NCP said. “While the Committee was collating its report the Otedola/Farouk video cassettes were released and promoted by the Federal Government to divert the attention of Nigerians from the unprecedented criminality of the fuel importers. As the sponsors of the video cassettes failed to achieve their dubious objectives the report of the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee was released with funfair.”
It noted that the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee has been unable to cover up the monumental fuel importation scandal, and a Presidential Committee has now been set up in the continuing rigmarole to verify and reconcile the findings of the technical committee set up by the Federal Ministry to Finance.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });
“However, the 15 members of the Committee include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) which have been indicted by the House for grave economic crimes and the representatives of the Banks that funded the fuel importation scam?” it asked. “Or is the Federal Government not aware that Mr. Aik-Imoukhuede funded not less than 33% of the indicted fuel importers?”
NCP asked more questions:
• Did the PPPRA not disclose at the public hearing of the House that it was importing 59 million litres of PMS when the daily local consumption was less than 35 million litres?
• Is this how to compensate an organization that engaged in the smuggling of 24 million litres of PMS per day?
• Was it not disclosed last week that the NNPC maintains and operates a secret account unknown to the Finance Minister and Coordinating Minster?
• Has the NNPC not been indicted by the KPMG Professional Services for economic sabotage of several millions of dollars?
NCP also recalled that the federal government has not explained how the N245 billion budgeted for fuel subsidy in 2011 was increased to N2.19 trillion.
“Instead of wasting public funds on committees upon committees which are set up to prevent the anti-graft agencies from prosecuting the indicted economic saboteurs the Federal Government should be bold enough to admit that it has closed the file of the fuel importation scam,” it said, or else disband without delay the Aig-Imoukheude Committee.
googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });