e incoming administration of the President-
elect, Maj.-Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), is
set to revisit the reports of panels set up by
the National Assembly to investigate various
financial scandals in Federal Government’s
agencies and ministries.
Saturday PUNCH gathered in Abuja, on Friday,
that top among reports that the
administration would examine include the fuel
subsidy and N255m bulletproof cars scam
probes by the House of Representatives as
well as the pension scandal investigation by
the Senate.
It was gathered that Buhari’s pronouncement
that he would take another look at the
missing $20bn was a precursor to the
administration’s desire to retrieve illegally
held public funds.
A former Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, now Emir of Kano, Mohammed Sanusi
II, had alleged that the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation did not account for $
20bn due to be remitted to the Federation
Account.
A competent source close to Buhari, who
pleaded for anonymity because he was not
authorised to speak to the media, said the
general knew that he had limited time within
which to turn around the nation, as such, he
had no intention of wasting public funds on
endless probes.
This, it was gathered, informed a tentative
decision by the incoming administration, not
to embark on fresh probes, but review reports
and recommendations of “compelling” cases
handled by the National Assembly.
Also, a top member of the All Progressives
Congress, who confided in Saturday PUNCH,
said, with the current fuel scarcity, it had
become necessary for the administration to
examine the fuel subsidy regime.
The APC chieftain said that the administration
would find the report of the House of
Representatives’ investigation into fuel
subsidy in 2012 useful.
He said, “For now, we have decided not to
comment on the issues of probes so as not to
heat up the transition, but what I can tell you
is that we will not encourage the culture of
impunity.
“With the fuel scarcity in many parts of the
country, the report of the House of
Representatives investigation will be among
those to be examined. We suspect that there
is massive fraud in the fuel subsidy.”
According to him, the incoming administration
will not dissipate energy embarking on fresh
probes.
He explained that the administration would
look at ways of implementing
recommendations of panels set up by the
National Assembly.
The APC top member stated, “If you recall,
during the campaigns, any time he (Buhari)
accused the outgoing administration of
corrupt tendencies, he made reference to
recommendations contained in reports which
he said, the Jonathan administration, has
shown a lack of political will to implement.
“What you are likely to see happening is a
revisit of investigations into scandals such as
the missing $20bn, the pension funds and the
fuel subsidy. Where reports recommend that
individuals refund public funds, these funds
must be refunded.
“Where they recommend that individuals or
institutions be prosecuted, that will be done.
“The anti-graft agencies will be repositioned to
perform the functions for which they were
established. It is certainly not going to be
business as usual.”
The insider also referred Saturday PUNCH to
what the President-elect said about his
approach to fighting the scourge of corruption,
during his presentation at Chatham House,
London, shortly before the elections.
Buhari had during the lecture said, “On
corruption, there will be no confusion as to
where I stand. Corruption will have no place
and the corrupt people will not be appointed
into my administration.
“First and foremost, we will plug the holes in
the budgetary process. Revenue producing
entities such as NNPC and Customs and
Excise will have one set of books only.
“Their revenues will be publicly disclosed and
regularly audited. The institutions of state
dedicated to fighting corruption will be given
independence and prosecutorial authority
without political interference.”
When contacted, the Director of Media and
Publicity of the All Progressives Congress
Presidential Campaign Council, Mallam Garba
Shehu, said, he was not in a position to
comment on policy issues.
He said, “…Even on the issue of the missing $
20bn which he (Buhari) was reported to have
said he would take a look at, I was not at the
event. Our concern now is to ensure a
seamless transfer of power.”
Following the nationwide protests that greeted
the move by the Jonathan administration to
remove fuel subsidy in January 2012, the
House of Representatives set up an ad hoc
committee which investigated the
management of the subsidy regime.
The House in April 2012 approved
recommendations of its Ad Hoc Committee on
Monitoring of the Subsidy Regime.
Among others, the panel recommended that
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,
the Petroleum Products Pricing and
Regulatory Agency and 72 other firms refund
N1.07tn said to have been fraudulently paid
to oil marketers.
To be part of the refund is also the Office of
the Accountant–General, which allegedly paid
N127.8bn within 24 hours to unknown
beneficiaries. The AGF paid N999m 28 times
in one day to the “unknown entities.”
All members of staff of the NNPC, PPPRA and
DPR involved in the processing of applications
for fuel imports were recommended for
investigation for “negligence, collusion and
fraud.”
Another report, which Saturday PUNCH
gathered would attract the attention of the
incoming administration, is the N255m car
scam that led to the removal of the Minister of
Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah.
Although the President removed Oduah as
recommended by the House, it was gathered
that the APC leaders believed that there were
other aspects of the report that should be
implemented.
Oduah was accused of approving expenditure
of over N643m for the Nigerian Civil Aviation
Authority to procure 54 vehicles.
The House noted that the approval exceeded
her limit as approval limit as a minister which
was N100m.
The NCAA purchased two bulletproof BMW
cars at the cost of N255m without the
approval of the National Assembly.
The House further recommended the ministry
and the NCAA to terminate all the
transactions relating to the bulletproof cars
because they “were neither provided for in the
Appropriation Act, 2013, nor was due process
followed in their procurement.”
In addition to terminating the transactions,
the House ordered that “all money so far
spent on the entire transactions should be
recovered by the Ministry of Finance and paid
back into the Consolidated Fund of the
Federation.”
The House faulted the diversion of waivers
meant for other purposes to import the
bulletproof cars and asked the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission to “investigate
the chassis number (DW68032) of one of the
vehicles on the one reported to have been
delivered and the one inspected by the
committee members.
It also asked the EYCK to “investigate and if
found wanting, prosecute all persons/
institutions involved in the transactions.”
Coscharis Nigeria Limited, which supplied the
controversial cars, was not left out.
The House directed that the company should
be investigated on the “issue of waiver” and
also to determine the “exact cost of the two
BMW vehicles.”
It also ordered the company to pay the value
of the waiver to the Federal Government.
Attempts to get an official reaction from the
APC were unsuccessful.
Phone calls to the mobile telephone number of
the party’s national publicity secretary, Alhaji
Lai Mohammed, were neither picked nor
replied. A response to a text message sent to
him was still being awaited as of the time of
filing this report 8:05pm.
Copyright PUNCH.All rights reserved.

Nice from the babaonechance!

Jonadafteen, Maduekwe, Odulah, etc and corrupt bastardic Nigerians have entered their final one chance bus to the lagoon of kirikiri!

Whenever you hear the word "TO"in govt. quarters...

Anyway continue to increase expectations

This one na real baba one chance. He will spend four years probing reports and at the end, no work done

GMB my HERO!
AMEACHI my ROLE MODEL!!

#teamsaynotocorruption.

Buhari we need to visit oputa panel reports too and find out why u refused to show up.

mekaboy:
Buhari we need to visit oputa panel reports too and find out why u refused to show up.

guy wake up

smemud:
guy wake up

yes na, panel na panel. We need all the panels reports visited.

We also need to revisit Tony Elumelu report on power during obasanjo administration