It
is so unfortunate that there has been so much ignorant carping and
malicious tittle-tattling about the report of the Petroleum Revenue Task
Force chaired by Malam Nuhu Ribadu, both failings arising from a
deliberate attempt to individualise what was actually group work, a
mischievous attempt to politicise one report out of three, and to
smuggle into an emergent grand web of conspiracy, elements of blackmail,
mischief and outright opportunism.
I should like to dispel the putrefacious stench of the fart that
seems to have overtaken the subject by returning all of us to certain
basics that have not changed since President Goodluck Jonathan approved
the setting up of committees to inquire into different aspects of the
petroleum sector and particularly since the reports were presented and
accepted. The facts are as follows.
The committees in question and the probe into the petroleum sector
were initiated by President Jonathan to ensure transparency and
accountability in the extractive industry; the goal was to transform the
sector and raise levels of integrity accordingly. Every step that has
been taken by this administration in this regard has been in fulfilment
of this well-stated principle. This includes the decision to completely
deregulate the downstream sector, which has now resulted in the exposure
of oily deals in that sector, with consequences for the indicted
persons.
It also includes the launch of a concerted fight against crude oil
theft and illegal payments of fuel subsidy. Zakari Mohammed of the House
of Representatives talks absent-mindedly about “lack of political will”
to fight corruption. He certainly doesn’t know what he is talking
about. A legislative position should not confer a right to mendacity. He
should know, if he had been reading the newspapers, that on the basis
of both the report of the House of Representatives and the Aig-Imokhuede
committee report on fuel subsidy payments, persons are currently being
prosecuted in the law courts by the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission (EFCC).
The Federal Government has not done anything to stop or discourage
the prosecution of indicted persons. We have made the point, again and
again, that in this on-going fight against corruption, there will be no
“cover ups”; and no “sacred cows,” and that President Jonathan’s only
interest is the people’s interest. This same President has demonstrated
the political will to deal with corruption in the country’s electoral
process, to both local and global acclaim. He has no reason to make
compromises in other areas of national life. Interestingly, many of
those who are now talking ignorantly about “political will” are
beneficiaries of this administration’s commitment to the rule of law and
fair play.
On the specific issue of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force report, the
mischief-makers should go back to the statements made by President
Jonathan, and subsequently by the Petroleum Minister, Diezani
Alison-Madueke, on the occasion of the presentation of the report. The
President’s position that the work of the Ribadu Committee, and of the
two other committees that presented their reports on that occasion, the
Idika Kalu Committee on Refineries and the Dotun Sulaiman Committee on
Governance, is useful and enlightening has not changed. Alison-Madueke
has further echoed that position more than twice. The three committees
were set up as fact-finding and advisory bodies. That fact was further
underscored by the President’s mature response to the altercation that
the Ribadu Committee Report generated when he said that those who have
issues to raise, should be free to make their own independent
submissions. This shows a determination to get every possible piece of
information and to accommodate all concerns. This shows a will to act.
President Jonathan has not dumped any input, rather he welcomes every
possible input and he has no private interest in this matter. So for
anyone to say that the Ribadu committee was “calculated to fail from the
beginning”, is absolutely uncharitable.
Indeed, for the benefit of those playing politics and doing quick
business with this matter, the truth is that President Jonathan is
already taking steps to address some of the issues raised in the various
reports. When President Jonathan sets up committees to investigate
particular issues, he does so, because he wants to address those issues.
I had, before now, drawn attention to the fact that the President gave
clear directives on the state of the refineries and that at least one
meeting had been held since the presentation of the Report on
Refineries, to act specifically on the recommendations made. President
Jonathan has directed that he wants the refineries fixed and steps are
already being taken; deadlines have been set. That didn’t make the
headlines, rather, falsehood hugged the headlines, because these days it
pays to fart all over the place, and attract attention.
To set the records straight, here is what happened. After the
presentation of the reports by the three committees; the President
directed the Minister of Petroleum Resources to take up the
recommendations of the Kalu Idika Kalu Committee on Refineries. The
committee recommended, in part, that the country’s refineries should be
rehabilitated without any further delay. On November 8, the minister and
her team were at the Villa to brief the President about the state of
the refineries, their current capacities, and steps that need to be
taken to get them to function at optimum capacity.
The President made it clear that the government is committed to
getting the refineries to work, so that we would no longer have to
import refined petroleum products, which he considers shameful, and by
so doing, government would have succeeded in creating jobs and put an
end to the hardship that attends importation. The meeting discussed the
possibility of ensuring the Turn Around Maintenance of the refineries by
March 2013, and subsequently, the rehabilitation of the facilities. The
meeting ended with a directive that the minister and her team should
return with further presentations on the technical details of the agreed
plan of action. This is one clear example of prompt action and
demonstration of commitment.
President Jonathan has no reason to embarrass anyone who served on
any of the three committees. While receiving the reports, these were his
words: “…we have seen that the people that have been selected in these
committees are people that are known by Nigerians, people that are
credible, most especially people that are patriotic and I believe that
they put all that into consideration for the interest of the country not
for the interest of any individual. You have submitted your reports
today. We have to thank you very sincerely and government will surely
make use of these reports… because we feel that the oil industry as it
is, needs to be reformed.” I urge you to note the emphasis on all the
reports without exception!
Thereafter, President Jonathan commented on the work of the
individual committees. On Dotun Sulaiman committee, he said: “…we feel
that our governance and control, (in the oil and gas sector) we need to
look at it. And of course quite a number of issues raised by the
presenters link up with even the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) issues
and I believe it will even help the National Assembly robustly in terms
of looking at some aspects of the PIB. So we thank you very sincerely
for that.”
On the Kalu Idika Kalu Committee, he said: “In the case of the
refineries, I really have to thank you because I was listening, trying
to see the kind of recommendations you will bring up…Maybe some of you
don’t know but those of us who are in politics, they used to “yab” us
some years back that in Nigeria, we import what we have and export what
we don’t have. They say we import what we have because we have crude oil
for God’s sake. Ordinarily if it is a country where we placed our focus
right, we should be having filling stations all over Africa and all
over the world …It is disgraceful that we are importing petroleum
products. If in the next ten years this country still imports petroleum
products, then all of us who have the opportunity to be here, in fact
when we die, they should write something and put behind us that we did
not rule this country well, because we must stop the importation of
petroleum products.” Hence, the President held the aforementioned
follow-up meeting on refineries.
Now, on the Ribadu Report, President Jonathan said, inter alia:
“…Probably not everybody agreed on some of the conclusions but I don’t
think we need to bother…what we would say is that any member who has one
or two observations should please write it either directly to me
through the Chief of Staff or through the Minister of Petroleum
Resources…But the issue of finance, if it borders on corrupt practice or
outright stealing, definitely it will go to the EFCC for
investigation…If there are errors of calculation or misinformation from
the relevant agencies of government that are supposed to give the
correct figures, that will be filtered out. It will not be used against
anybody, because the interest of government to set up these committees
is to help us do what is right. It is not to help us do what is wrong.
And that is why we have to be careful and do what is right. So I plead
with you. But let me assure you that government has no interest in
hiding anything…”
Let me cut this short, at this point, by saying that President
Jonathan has no reason whatsoever, personal or political (since at least
one character has said that the furore over the Ribadu Report has
something to do with 2015!) to protect wrong-doers in the land. He took
on this assignment to make Nigeria better and that is what he is doing
everyday: working hard at the Nigerian project and taking every step to
transform it for good. The Nigerian people are enjoined to stand on the
side of truth and to reject the mischief of all hunters of fortune whose
interest is their own ambitions, for in this Ribadu Committee Report
matter, personal ambitions are beginning to becloud the facts. President
Jonathan will continue to provide leadership. Nobody should drag him
into the cheap arena of opportunistic demagoguery.
DailyPost
An
armed robber using a motorcycle met his waterloo at the early hours of
Sunday in the oil-rich city of Warri, Delta State, while trying to
snatch a handbag from a lady.
It
is so unfortunate that there has been so much ignorant carping and
malicious tittle-tattling about the report of the Petroleum Revenue Task
Force chaired by Malam Nuhu Ribadu, both failings arising from a
deliberate attempt to individualise what was actually group work, a
mischievous attempt to politicise one report out of three, and to
smuggle into an emergent grand web of conspiracy, elements of blackmail,
mischief and outright opportunism.