SAN FRANCISCO, November 27, (THEWILL) – The House of Representatives on Wednesday mandated its committee on petroleum (downstream) to conduct a full scale investigation into the alleged expenditure of N630 billion on kerosene subsidy between 2010 and 2013.
This followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Hon. Adeyinka Ajayi titled the ‘urgent need to investigate the expenditure and subsidy on kerosene. ’
The House mandated the committee to amongst other things establish the source of the money used in financing kerosene subsidy and the relevant budgetary approval. It is to also determine the companies benefitting from kerosene subsidy, establish the extent (if at all) to which the subsidised kerosene gets to the consumers at the regulated price, and investigate all incidental issues relating to kerosene supply and distribution.
While leading debate on the motion, Ajayi said although kerosene is supposedly sold to marketers at N40.90, it “hardly gets to the consumers at the regulated as it is only the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) retail outlets that sell the product at N50 per litre, while other major and independent marketers retail the product at between N130 and N135 per litre.”
He recalled that the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, had told the Senate Committee on Appropriation that government did not pay any subsidy on kerosene in the last two years.
“There are conflicting claims by the Honourable Minister and NNPC on the source of money through which kerosene is subsidised and the amount involved therein as the office of the Honourable Minister was said to have been aware of nor had it authorised any such payment,” he said.
It will be recalled that Bassey Ewah had stated at an earlier plenary that the total sum spent on subsidising the product in the last three years amounts to N630 billion as , according to him, N110 billion was spent in 2010, N320 billion spent in 2011, while N200 billion was spent in 2012.
The committee is to submit its findings within one month.
By Saint Mugaga, Abuja
