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Investigations in Abuja on Friday showed that the fear of termination of appointments had already gripped top officials of the ministry and its agencies, including the Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Austin Oniwon.
The apprehension, it was learnt, arose from revelations at the various probes of the fuel subsidy regime by the National Assembly and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
It was learnt that many workers in the sector became jittery following the appointment of a former EFCC chairman, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, as head of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force.
Besides the Ribadu-led group, the Federal Government has also set up another task force on refineries.
Investigations showed that the constitution of the two task forces was beyond the leadership of the oil sector.
It was learnt that President Goodluck Jonathan was so embittered by the revelations about the administration of the subsidy that he decided to ensure that the sector was dealt with in a most holistic matter.
Jonathan’s top men, it was learnt, were worried about the controversy surrounding kerosene distribution in the country and the role of the NNPC in the saga.
A source told one of our correspondents on the condition of anonymity that the former chairman of the EFCC was not appointed to head the task force by the minister of petroleum.
It was learnt that a minister in economic position had been prevailing on Ribadu to drop his political differences with Jonathan, his friend of many years.
It was learnt that Ribadu’s acceptance of the task force job was only a stepping stone to a more formal appointment in the Jonathan administration.
The source said that the minister and key players in the oil industry were jittery over the choice of Ribadu as head of the task force as they might be swept away by agency’s recommendations.
A reliable source in the Presidency said, “President Jonathan is disturbed by the barrage of criticisms he has been getting because of the corruption in the oil sector, hence the establishment of the task forces. The sector will be cleaned up.
“Even people in the sector know that a wind of change is blowing. Things can never be the same again. There is no way all management staff can escape the wind of change.
“They cannot claim ignorance of the malpractices going on in the sector. That is why many of them are afraid.
“By the way, who told you that it was the minister who convinced Ribadu to accept the task force job?”
It was learnt that top officials of the petroleum ministry and its agencies were apprehensive of what the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on subsidy would recommend.
The committee, which rounded off its sitting on Thursday last week, discovered that fuel importers increased from 49 in 2010 to 140 in 2011.
It established that although 59 million litres of fuel were imported everyday into the country, only 35 million litres were consumed locally.
The committee discovered that 24 million litres were either diverted or smuggled out of the country after importers had collected subsidies on them.
It was learnt that top-ranking officials of the ministry and its agencies had been on the edge since a report by a group in the House of Representatives called for the removal of the minister and her team on Feb 10, 2012.
The Reps had argued that keeping the minister and her team in office at a time the EFCC was investigating subsidy payments was tantamount to being judges in their own cause.
According to the report, members of the House are divided over the call for the removal of the minister and other officials.
Further investigations showed that while the recommendations of the ad hoc committee were still being awaited, some Peoples Democratic Party members had vowed to reject any suggestion that would sweep the minister and other heads away.
Investigations showed that the committee members, who were irked by the perceived lack of transparency in the oil sector, might recommend the removal of the top officials.
A top official of the ministry, who confided in one of our correspondents, said every stakeholder in the ministry was disturbed by the revelation that 24 million litres of fuel was being smuggled out of the country daily.
He said, “About 59 million litres of fuel were imported into the country daily in 2011, we only consumed 35 million litres, while the remaining was smuggled out of the country. There is no way the ministry and its agencies can claim to be ignorant of this sharp practice.
“Fuel importers increased from 49 in 2010 to 140 in 2011. Many of these importers collected subsidy without importing fuel. I believe that this must have been done with the connivance of government officials.”
It was reliably learnt that this was one of the reasons that forced the FG, at the instance of the President, to set up two task forces.
On Feb 8, the FG set up a task force on refineries, headed by a former Minister of Finance, Dr. Idika Kalu.
The terms of reference of the task force on petroleum revenue include: “To work with consultants and experts to determine and verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues (taxes, royalties, etc) due and payable to the government;
“To take all necessary steps to collect all debts due and owing; to obtain agreements and enforce payment terms by all oil industry operators; and
“To, among other things, conduct a high-level assessment of the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries; review all past reports and assessments and produce a diagnostic report complete with a change journey map.”
Investigations showed that recommendations of the two task forces and the National Assembly’s committees would form the basis for re-organisation of the oil sector.
A top official of the ministry, who pleaded anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to journalists, said, “You know Ribadu’s antecedents. People whose hands are soiled are afraid already.”
The former EFCC chairman had on Feb 7 hinged his acceptance of the task force job on his resolve to fight corruption.
He had said, “Regardless of our affiliations, our differences, and our engagements, it is at least safe to say that we have a national consensus, on the deadly impact of corruption on the march to greatness, and on the capacity of our people, particularly the youth, to earn a decent, promising life.”
According to Ribadu, Nigerians must see corruption as a prominent national security threat.
The former EFCC boss had said, “We must see it as a war within our borders, a war that has assumed a systemic and endemic character, but to which all must now urgently enlist with our different capacities, or accept to all go down with the ship.”
When one of our correspondents contacted the Group General Manager, Public Affairs of the NNPC, Dr. Levi Ajuonoma, for his response on the state of affairs in the NNPC, he got angry, saying the reporter dared to call him by 7.32pm.
He bellowed, “Who are you and why are you calling me by this time? If you are a journalist from PUNCH, is that why you are calling me by this time? Do you know what time it is? Get off that line. I say get lost; you fool.”
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