Senate Rejects Proposal For Subsidy Removal, It’s Against Public Opinion, Says Mark

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By Olusegun Emmanuel, Abuja.
The Senate on Thursday declined to approve its committee proposal for the removal of fuel subsidy, insisting that doing so would amount to swimming against the tide of public opinion.

Senate rejected the recommendation on the ground that it was not popular among Nigerian masses, adding that adequate awareness needs to be created on the desirability of subsidy removal.

Senate President, David Mark, in his remark on the recommendation said ” We shouldn’t pitch  ourselves against the public opinion. If oil subsidy is to be withdrawn, there should be long public enlightenment of Nigerians on the need for it and since public opinion should count first on any issue, the Senate cannot in anyway stand against such an opinion which is in total support of oil subsidy.”

However, the recommendation by Committee that  NNPC should  remit a total sum of $927million into the federation account as recommended in the report was adopted by the Upper Chamber.

It would be recalled that in September last year, the former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,  alleged that NNPC did not remit a total sum of $49.8billion into the federation account as part of the nation’s oil proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013.

The breakdown of the monies  to be remitted into the federation account by NNPC, according to the adopted report, are $447.817 million being balance of Royalty and Petroleum Profit tax the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) refused to remit into federation account on behalf of NNPC.

The $218.069milion  balance of $2.4billion Oil Gross Lifting under third party financing by NNPC could not be accounted for and the $262million expenses NNPC could not be satisfactorily defended in respect of Holdings Strategic Stock Reserve, Pipeline Maintenance and Management Cost and Capital Expenditure.

The Senate also in the adopted report, mandated the committee to follow up and receive the forensic audit/checks report from the Auditor- General for the federation and PWC , study it   and report back to  the senate.

The Senate on the strength of the allegation, mandated its Finance committee in November last year to carry out thorough investigation on the allegation, the report of which was submitted by the committee’s Chairman, Ahmad Makarfi on 28th  May  2014.

After extensive debate on the report by Committee on Finance which faulted Sanusi’s claim of unremitted $49.8billion, the Senate adopted 21 out of the 22 recommendations made.

However, part of the approved recommendations  of the committee was the need for the National Assembly to expeditiously pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) as a way of sanitizing the sector holistically.

The Senate also in the adopted report, mandated the committee to follow up and receive the forensic audit/checks report from the Auditor- General for the federation and PWC , study it   and report back to  the senate.