…Accuses FG of engaging in secret oil deals

Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) yesterday demanded an open inquiry into the handling of the N1.4 trillion oil subsidy regime under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

PDP in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, said the demand by state governors for a probe of the subsidy regime since 2015 is an indictment on President Buhari.

The party  expressed delight that state governors across political divides, as well as the National Assembly, are in agreement on the need to probe the  fuel subsidy regime under the present administration.

Consequently, the party noted that it is imperative for the President to submit himself  for an independent probe on the N1.4 trillion said to have been spent on fuel subsidy since his assumption of office on May 29, 2015, considering his position as the substantive Petroleum Resources Minister.

PDP said: “We invite Nigerians to note that the demand by governors to probe all subsidy deals since 2015 is a direct indictment on President Buhari as the Minister of Petroleum, particularly, following allegations that the stolen funds are being warehoused to fund his 2019 re-election bid and the opulent lifestyle in the Presidential Villa.

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“Such inquest, which is already backed by state governors across board, will not only expose humongous corruption but also show the world that our African Union (AU) anti-corruption champion had not been totally spotless.”

It stated that if President Buhari allows an inquest into the subsidy regime, “it will reveal how our president, who had queried the genuineness of the oil subsidy payments by PDP administration and described the process as a fraud, had secretly engaged in underhand oil subsidy deals.”

The party added that “Nigerians will also understand how the cost of fuel geometrically rose from the PDP subsidised cost of N87 to N145, representing a N58 tax per litre of fuel.

“Nigerians  recall that it took over two years of secret oil subsidy deals under President Buhari before it was exposed last December.

“Since then, the Presidency and NNPC have been seeking ways to cover the fraud, which include claims that local consumption suddenly jumped from 28 million litres per day to 60 million litres per day.

“PDP considers this as a fabrication to retire the billions being stolen as subsidy, even when statistics by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the reality of the retarded purchasing power of citizens under the prevailing economic recession do not validate such claims.”

“Nigerians, therefore, deserve to know who authorised the payments and the identity of the beneficiary companies, if any.”