Senate panel blames Jonathan for illegal N685bn spending

The Senate Committee on Finance has said that
President Goodluck Jonathan should be blamed
for the unilateral spending of N685.910bn by the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation on
kerosene subsidy in 2012 and 2013.
The committee which probed the alleged
$49.8bn missing oil money, said Jonathan set
aside a directive by the late President Umaru
Yar’Adua in 2010 that kerosene subsidy
payments should be stopped.
It added that the President defended the
disbursement of the whopping sum by the
NNPC without appropriation by the National
Assembly.
In the report which was obtained by our
correspondent on Monday, the committee noted
that Yar’Adua stopped the subsidy payments
because Nigerian masses were not the
beneficiaries.
The committee lamented that Jonathan’s
decision to set aside the directive by Yar’Adua
made the Federal Government to spend
N353.3bn in 2012 and N332.5bn in 2013 on
kerosene subsidy payments.
It said that Nigerian masses bought the
kerosene above the pump price during the
periods under review.
The report stated that the “amount may exceed
this (figure quoted) because certification by the
Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency
between August and December 2013 was an
interim one”.
It added, “Mr. President (Jonathan), having
publicly defended payments of kerosene subsidy
clearly shows that the said Presidential directive
by the late Yar’Adua had been set aside by the
current President.
“Therefore, it (kerosene subsidy payment) is not
a unilateral action of any individual (in the
petroleum agency). However, it remains
unconstitutional since it is not appropriated for
by the National Assembly.”
The report further stated that investigations
revealed that the Federal Government spent
N965.4m every day in 2012 on kerosene
subsidy and N908.5m daily in 2013.
The N685.910bn, according to the report, is part
of the $20bn to be accounted for based on the
submission of a former Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi.
The report noted that Jonathan’s action was
contrary to Section 80 (2), (3), and (4) of the
Federal Republic of Nigeria constitution (as
ammended), which stipulates that, no money
shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund of the Federation without the
approval of the National Assembly.
The committee therefore asked Jonathan to
prepare and present to the National Assembly, a
supplementary budget to cover the N685.910bn
spent by the NNPC without appropriation for
kerosene subsidy.
It further noted that since no amount was asked
for kerosene subsidy in the 2014 budget, the
NNPC should not make further deductions in that
regard.
The committee also recommended the
immediate stoppage of the subsidy regime both
on petrol (pms) and kerosene (DPK).
The report added, “The Ministry of Finance and
Ministry of Petroleum Resources differ on
position of subsidy on kerosene.
“The Coordinating Minister for the Economy/
Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala,
testified that she had not authorised any
payment/expenditure of subsidy on kerosene and
that there was no budgetary provision for it.
“The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, also agreed that there
was no budgetary provision for subsidy on DPK
(kerosene) but noted that her ministry continued
to make payments for it in the overall interest of
the masses.
“Mr. President, in his media chat on February
24, 2013 aired on the Nigerian Television
Authority and other television stations, defended
the deductions for kerosene subsidy.
“There is therefore, the need for the subsidy
regime to be totally discontinued with. However,
all stakeholders should be consulted and carried
along as much as possible before abolishing the
subsidy.”