I think this is am eye opener coming from the angle of one of them.
Click on the link http:// / Ag8kIx
http:// / Ag8kIx

http:// / Ag8kIx

A part of the link just keeps going off when I click the post button. ()

Is this it? The entire world can see the scam Otedola suggests a pro-people solution to. GEJ's weakness and complicity cannot allow him to even consider the many effective solutions that would work best in the interest of ordinary Nigerians because they all mean he has to confront his "owners of Nigeria" pals and AGIP friends.


http://saharareporters.com/news-page/fuel-subsidy-rip-offs-wikileaks-reveals-how-nnpc-cost-nigeria-billions-dollars

Fuel Subsidy Rip-Offs: Wikileaks Reveals How NNPC Cost Nigeria Billions of Dollars
Posted: January 12, 2012 - 12:41
By SaharaReporters, New York

In the middle of a mass resistance that has virtually shut down Nigeria in response to the government’s abrupt January 1 withdrawal of a subsidy on oil, a previously-unreleased United States 2009 Wikileaks cable has emerged which indicates official manipulation that may have cost Nigeria billions of dollars.

According to the cable [C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000767 SIPDIS NOFORN E.O. 12958], the scandal concerns prices paid by the government for imported fuel, as international fuel traders, taking advantage of massive corruption loopholes in Nigeria, engaged in falsifying the dates of bills of lading to reflect particularly high market prices.  By so doing, they overcharged the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by over $300 million.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Shell Petroleum Development Corporation of Nigeria (SPDC), Mr. Chris Finlayson, told the United States (?) Consul General and the Economic Officer on April 2 that some marketers had been changing the dates when fuel shipments bound for Nigeria were loaded in order to take advantage of particularly high market prices.

Following that, on April 6, Femi Otedola, President and CEO of Zenon Petroleum and Gas, essentially corroborated Finlayson's report, saying over $300 million has been overpaid by NNPC for fuel imports, and that many leading international traders are involved in the manipulation of shipments that the NNPC curiously failed to notice.  “Discrepancies were found when comparing dates on the bills of lading with dates of landing in Lagos,” the document said.

According to the cable, “Pointing to examples, Otedola said that while a tanker loading fuel at a refinery in Bahrain usually takes four weeks to arrive in Lagos, comparisons between the bills of lading and dates of arrival of some shipments reflected only a four-day difference, and in other cases, if taken at face value, indicated the journey took nine months. Otedola said 73 shipments from refineries in the Persian Gulf, England, and Venezuela listed delivery times of only one day. NNPC is attempting to get compensation for the over-charge. Otedola went on that most of the fuel traders supplying Nigeria are implicated in over-charging NNPC, and showed a list of 17 companies that supplied fuel in the first quarter of 2004, several of which, he said, are significant players in international markets, such as Trafigura and Vitol. Otedola added that three companies clearly not involved in the scandal are British Petroleum, ChevronTexaco and Shell.”

[size=18pt]The most stunning part of the cable is the reported recommendation of Otedola who felt that Nigeria would “save some four billion dollars a year in expenditures on imported fuel” if the NNPC simply stopped contracting with international fuel traders and, instead, negotiated purchases directly from refineries worldwide.[/size]

In parenthesis, as background to the position of Mr. Otedola, the document noted as follows: “Prior to deregulation in October 2003, NNPC, then the sole importer of fuel, lost two billion dollars per year because it sold stock to retailers below purchase price. After October 2003, NNPC initially stopped subsidizing fuel sales, letting marketers import fuel to be sold at market prices. However, sources agree that NNPC is back in the business of subsidizing gasoline sales while it maintains a facade of deregulation by encouraging private marketers to import fuel that NNPC purchases at market price. NNPC then sells the fuel to marketers and retailers at a reduced price to ensure that those companies maintain a profit margin while holding consumer prices to informal caps set by the Department of Petroleum Resources.”

The American officials then concluded that the allegation that international traders bilked NNPC of hundreds of millions of dollars is yet another example of the poor management of Nigeria's energy sector, and highlights the complex links between crude sales, fuel importation, refinery maintenance, and energy production in the country, and slyly observed that the way NNPC looked the other way while Nigeria was being fleeced was deliberate. 

[size=14pt]“Otedola is probably right in suggesting that long-standing sweetheart deals between the NNPC and a variety of fuel traders [are] keeping the system inefficient. That may also explain why the [Government of Nigeria, GON] just can't seem to get its refineries running even after spending a billion dollars or more on maintenance contracts over the last four years. Otedola said he initially bid to purchase the Port Harcourt refinery offered for privatization, but he recently told President Obasanjo he will not invest in the refinery so long as NNPC purchases fuel from traders instead of negotiating directly with refineries in other countries and leasing ships itself to deliver fuel to Nigeria.[/size] It is not clear if Otedola's assumption that the international traders' stake in Nigeria's current fuel market is the main driver behind the country's refinery woes. But it is clear that the fundamentals of infrastructure security, interim supply stability, and transactional transparency must still be addressed if the GON is to be taken seriously about its efforts to deregulate and largely privatize Nigeria's downstream petroleum sector.”

[size=14pt]This cable emerges to confirm the very argument of millions of Nigerians who have been trooping into the streets worldwide since last week in protest of the oil subsidy that the principal problem in the country is corruption and lack of transparency which will swallow whatever is saved from withdrawing the subsidy.
[/size]
It would be recalled that in KPMG’s “Interim Report on the Process and Forensic Review of NNPC” [The KPMG Report] dated 22 November 2010, which was published by SaharaReporters on December 9, 2011, the Auditor said it had found that NNPC’s subsidy claims and PPPRA’s verification were based on volume of petroleum products available for sale (volume of products imported and actual production from the refineries) as against duly verified volume of products lifted out of the depots (volume of petroleum products sold) as stipulated in the subsidy guidelines.

KPMG also observed that while subsidy claims should be remitted to NNPC from PSF by the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMF) based on claims approved by PPPRA, NNPC’s convoluted and questionable practice was to remit to the Federation Account, amount payable for domestic crude less subsidy claims. It would then request the FMF to pay the subsidy amount due to it (from PSF) into the Federation Account being the balance of the cost of domestic crude.

“There are instances of delays in receipt of subsidy advice from PPPRA resulting in the estimation of subsidy claims by NNPC which results in over/ under-deduction from proceeds of domestic crude sales,” the report said.  For example, it said, N25bn was deducted as subsidy estimate for September 2009 from domestic crude sales proceeds while PPPRA approved a subsidy of N23.8bn. N35bn was also deducted as subsidy estimate for November 2009 but PPPRA approved a subsidy of N21.3bn.

“Over-deduction for these two months amounted to N14.9bn but only N4.2bn was swept into the Federation Account by NNPC as adjustment for subsidy claimable in the two months,” KPMG reported.

Among other issues flagged by the report was NNPC’s non-compliance with approved policies/ procedures. 

Gbawe:

Is this it? The entire world can see the scam Otedola suggests a pro-people solution to. GEJ's weakness and complicity cannot allow him to even consider the many effective solutions that would work best in the interest of ordinary Nigerians because they all mean he has to confront his "owners of Nigeria" pals and AGIP friends.


http://saharareporters.com/news-page/fuel-subsidy-rip-offs-wikileaks-reveals-how-nnpc-cost-nigeria-billions-dollars

Otedola words are now gold to you , now that it supports popular view. thought Otedola and Dangote were those leading the cabal and active members of AGIP.

Your confused and double speak image is getting terrible by the day .

By your utterances, can we say that all your rants have being wholly emotional with a condensed mixture of bitterness and bias.

Otedola is now being declared a pro -people . . Hallelujah

Rad1cal:



Otedola words are now gold to you  , now that it supports popular view. thought Otedola and Dangote were those leading the cabal and active members of AGIP.

Your confused and double speak image is getting terrible by the day .

By your utterances, can we say that all your rants have being wholly emotional with a condensed mixture of bitterness and bias.

Otedola is now being declared a pro -people  . . Hallelujah

What is the matter with some of you and this your petty obsession to follow others around? We all know what wikileaks is about. Wikileaks reveal the undiluted truth people speak , to appear as "good guys", but never wish to be quoted on. Much like Oronto Douglas confesssing that GEJ has always been part of the culture of coruuption in the ND and then waxing lyrical about GEJ's "leadership ability" in public.

I don't rate Otedola and never will. That does not mean I cannot comment on him speaking what he knows to be the truth in private yet will never state in public. Even if Otedola  benefits from all the corruption in the oil industry, as I believe he does, do you think that stops him telling the truth to those he assumes are neutral so as to appear to be on the side of what is best for Nigeria?  Olodo !!!

Of course Otedola suggests a[b] pro-people[/b] solution but that does not mean he is sincere or really keen for his solution to be adopted !!!!  You need to go and get yourself updated about what many of our leaders have said , especially to the Americans, via wikileaks exposure. Please don't bother with this sort of nonsense in future. You are not bright enough to trip me up , even if that is a personal obsession for you, let alone expose any imagined hypocrisy that is a figment of your own imagination. You only end up looking distinctly dull. My main point is that Otedola, like many, knows the problem and the easy solutions which do not involve punishing 160 million folks.  Otedola is no sudden hero to me. I know he is just pandering to others to appear part of the solution. In so doing, he speaks the truth . Olodo.


http://saharareporters.com/news-page/wikileaks-%E2%80%9Cgoodluck-jonathan-was-part-system-corruption-had-impoverished-niger-%E2%80%A8delta-deca

Wikileaks: “Goodluck Jonathan Was Part Of The System Of Corruption That Had Impoverished The Niger 
Delta For Decades,” Says Jonathan’s Senior Special Assistant, Oronto Douglas
Posted: September 8, 2011 - 16:17
By SaharaReporters, New York


On December 18 , 2006, just after the then Bayelsa State 
Governor, Goodluck Jonathan, had been named PDP presidential running mate to Umaru Yar'Adua,  human rights activist and Jonathan confidante Oronto Douglas described in glowing terms.

Among them, Jonathan was well respected among Ijaw leaders, had built a successful development program in Bayelsa, and had been a good Governor.

[size=14pt]A new WikiLeaks cable shows, however, that only the day before, Mr. Douglas’ true feelings about Jonathan had been different.  In a conversation with an American official, Douglas described Jonathan as “part of the system of corruption that had impoverished the Niger 
Delta for decades.”

And that “successful development programme in Bayelsa”?  "Even his development initiative is viewed with skepticism by the populace," Douglas said.[/size]

He said that the outstanding corruption charges against Jonathan and his wife were troubling, and that while Jonathan enjoyed the support of the "Ijaw leaders," the "restive youth" had little respect for the "so-called leaders."

Douglas, who is now a Special Presidential Adviser to Jonathan, disclosed how close the corrupt governor of Rivers State, Mr. Peter Odili, came close to being named ahead of Jonathan as Yar'Adua's running mate. 

“It wasn't until Yar'Adua was at the podium and publicly announced Goodluck Jonathan to be his running mate that [Odili] realized he was not the PDP's vice presidential candidate,” the writer learned from Douglas. 

According to the story, a friend of Douglas’ who had had access to Yar'Adua's speech told him that Odili's name was mentioned as the running mate, but just before the convention, it was excised.

Douglas was of the view that Odili had fallen victim of an EFCC which claimed “significant malfeasance” on his part, including an instance where Naira 60 billion was earmarked for a gas plant project that actually cost only naira 20 billion.”

Mr. Douglas also commented on the PDP gubernatorial candidate for Bayelsa State, whom he thought would be Timi Alaibe, who was then the Executive Director of Finance for the Niger Delta 
Development Commission (NDDC).

Alaibe, Douglas asserted, would be “the worst possible choice."

So why on earth doesn't the FG negotiate directly to buy oil from refineries?

Why the middle men?

ekt_bear:

So why on earth doesn't the FG negotiate directly to buy oil from refineries?

Why the middle men?

My brother, look around Nairaland to note I have asked the same thing several times !!! They simply won't do it because doing that removes the massive loot they are all enjoying. There is so much they are not doing. This is why no Nigerian should support their effort aimed at punishing Nigerians for their own corruption and lack of will to do what is best for all.

When those directly involved , and knowledgeable about the problem, point privately to the easy way out, one wonders why Government is hellbent on rejecting those sort of solutions to settle firmly on victimising ordinary Nigerians already "living in hell" !!!!!

Is $4 billion savings (as Otedola purports) a joke? The Government simply wants to be cruel to Nigeria to facilitate it marketer friends and 'fronts' remaining in the money. Many don't know that fuel subsidy removal does nothing to the interest of the so called "cabal" (major marketers) who are actually genuine businessmen and pals of GEJ. Subsidy removal simply and conveniently makes Nigerians the losers in all this. If we all think about it, Otedola and co will be finished if NNPC negotiated directly with refineries abroad till we get our house in order. Otedola is in GEJ's economic team. One does not need to be a Rocket Scientist to see why the FG is insistent on doing something that preserves the interest of everyone but the common man.

Point of correction. . .

Otedola is worth quite a bit of money. If easy money goes away, then he'll find other sources of revenue.

Nobody is "finished" if they've already made 100s of millions, if not billions of dollars.

ekt_bear:

Point of correction. . .

Otedola is worth quite a bit of money. If easy money goes away, then he'll find other sources of revenue.

Nobody is "finished" if they've already made 100s of millions, if not billions of dollars.

Not "finished" literally but his main business will take a significant hit. You always tend to view things and rationalise in terms of money . Amusing actually because, here, it leads you to speak in defense of Otedola.The fact he has money to move onto other thing is not really significant here. The substantive issue is that , with a "business as usual" President in place, what is right for ordinary Nigerians will always take a back seat to the business/monetary interest of the elite and ruling class.

By the way, go and investigate Otedola. He is no business guru ala Richard Branson, Alan Sugar et al. He is another person , in the right place at the right time, to benefit from political 'assitance'. It is that way for many of our rich men. Highly likely many would be ordinary if in societies where innovation and talent , and not cronyism, is the way to the top. This is why there are hardly any Nigerian businessmen I respect. They made their money heavily assisted partisanly by politics in a nation where everything is hijacked cynically to create what we now have - stupendous wealth in the hands of a few and excruciating poverty for millions. Trust me when I tell you that many,many, many Nigerians who could not hack it in the UK are now very big men in Nigeria with vast business interests all achieved through politics.

I'm not defending him. Just saying that he has enough money that whether the subsidy goes or not, he'll be fine.

wiki is not 100 percent correct and Nigeria has a big problem with corruption that she most correct

ekt_bear:

Point of correction. . .

Otedola is worth quite a bit of money. If easy money goes away, then he'll find other sources of revenue.

Nobody is "finished" if they've already made 100s of millions, if not billions of dollars.

ekt_bear:

I'm not defending him. Just saying that he has enough money that whether the subsidy goes or not, he'll be fine.

wrong. the mans attaching to gej is hardcore self preservation.

it was in obj's time he was really flossing. serious govt patronage. he bought stallion house(oando's hq)  and renamed it zenon house, he was selling diesel at was it n80, i forget. obj steeped out and the otedolas troubles began. zenith bank has taken over zenon housem and the new zenon hq. the 'diesel direct' is  dead. the man has runied ap to teh point that he has to reinvent the company as forte oil. and ONLY 1  retail outlet has been rebranded, over nine months later.

to make matters worse the man, rather than be a business man, engages in ridiculous petty feuds. his buying of oando hq was one such. then the beef between him and dangot. there was a poi when he went as far as bringing in 'otedola cement' in some bizarre and half assed attempt to undercut dangote.

part of the mans issues stems from an inferiority complex - apparently he didn't go to or didn't complete uni. and according to some, he started his entrepreneurial career as a loan shark 

anyway, his attaching himself to gej is paying off. most of teh downstream guys were caught unawares by gejs new year madness. i'm plenty sure otedolas storage was brimming.

Heh, interesting.

ekt_bear:

I'm not defending him. Just saying that he has enough money that whether the subsidy goes or not, he'll be fine.

Ekt Bear, nothing wrong with what you said but I feel you kinda respect the likes of Otedola for their "business achievement" because of your personal interest in business, economics and money. Sorry if it seems I was rude but I despise the likes of Otedola.

The truth is that these people are nothing but Vultures. Whatever they have gained has 100% being achieved by abuse of political powers. I can't admire folks like that because whatever they have accumulated was at the expense of Nigeria and has created the awful society we have where many live like animal while a few are stupendously wealthy. We all saw OBJ attempting to sell refineries to Otedola and Dangote for pittance before Yar Adua reversed that odious nonsense.

A large percentage of our leaders were failures in the diaspora . Andy Uba was declared bankrupt in the USA. !!!! Today, thanks to OBJ, he is a billionaire with "numerous" business interest. Ibori had criminal record in the UK from when he worked as a cashier for a DIY (do it yourself) firm. Now we all know how filthy rich he is with "numerous" business interests. I personally know a former Governor who drove a taxi in the UK before going to "try his luck" in Nigeria. The rest, as they say, is history. Many of them are nothing but hustlers.

Disgustingly, all that the Otedola's of the world ecel at , first and foremost, is cronyism. There is no innate talent in them and we indeed see them hovering shamelessly around every President be it OBJ, Yar Adua or GEJ. They are the ones, along with their political benefactors, preventing Nigeria from developing into a merit-based society where talent shines.

Some of us who have made successes of our lives in the diaspora, because of the merit-based system we benefitted from, want that for our fellow Nigerians. That alone makes me resent the likes of Otedola and Dangote who are alway fronts for the government of the day and benefit from the monopoly that political powers create for them.

Gbawe:

Ekt Bear, nothing wrong with what you said but I feel you kinda respect the likes of Otedola for their "business achievement" because of your personal interest in business, economics and money. Sorry if it seems I was rude but I despise the likes of Otedola.

The truth is that these people are nothing but Vultures. Whatever they have gained has 100% being achieved by abuse of political powers. I can't admire folks like that because whatever they have accumulated was at the expense of Nigeria and has created the awful society we have where many live like animal while a few are stupendously wealthy. We all saw OBJ attempting to sell refineries to Otedola and Dangote for pittance before Yar Adua reversed that odious nonsense.

A large percentage of our leaders were failures in the diaspora . Andy Uba was declared bankrupt in the USA. !!!! Today, thanks to OBJ, he is a billionaire with "numerous" business interest. Ibori had criminal record in the UK from when he worked as a cashier for a DIY (do it yourself) firm. Now we all know how filthy rich he is with "numerous" business interests. I personally know a former Governor who drove a taxi in the UK before going to "try his luck" in Nigeria. The rest, as they say, is history. Many of them are nothing but hustlers.

Disgustingly, all that the Otedola's of the world ecel at , first and foremost, is cronyism. There is no innate talent in them and we indeed see them hovering shamelessly around every President be it OBJ, Yar Adua or GEJ. They are the ones, along with their political benefactors, preventing Nigeria from developing into a merit-based society where talent shines.

Some of us who have made successes of our lives in the diaspora, because of the merit-based system we benefitted from, want that for our fellow Nigerians. That alone makes me resent the likes of Otedola and Dangote who are alway fronts for the government of the day and benefit from the monopoly that political powers create for them.

Fayoshe

oyb:

wrong. the mans attaching to gej is hardcore self preservation.

it was in obj's time he was really flossing. serious govt patronage. he bought stallion house(oando's hq)  and renamed it zenon house, he was selling diesel at was it n80, i forget. obj steeped out and the otedolas troubles began. zenith bank has taken over zenon housem and the new zenon hq. the 'diesel direct' is  dead. the man has runied ap to teh point that he has to reinvent the company as forte oil. and ONLY 1  retail outlet has been rebranded, over nine months later.

to make matters worse the man, rather than be a business man, engages in ridiculous petty feuds. his buying of oando hq was one such. then the beef between him and dangot. there was a poi when he went as far as bringing in 'otedola cement' in some bizarre and half assed attempt to undercut dangote.

part of the mans issues stems from an inferiority complex - apparently he didn't go to or didn't complete uni. and according to some, he started his entrepreneurial career as a loan shark 

anyway, his attaching himself to gej is paying off. most of teh downstream guys were caught unawares by gejs new year madness. i'm plenty sure otedolas storage was brimming.

Oyb, na you get am !!! I grew up in Surulere as neigbhours to the Otedolas (not literally next door) and Femi had a younger brother around my age. I knew him . Arrogant as shite and[b] thick as a plank[/b]. We did not remain friends for long because he looked down on those who were not children of big men and were not driving around in one of daddy's many cars at 16. Funny enough, he took it for granted he was going to be a "big man" because of his family's name and influence. There was a clique of them in the area like that.

Very thick and all over-priviledged children of "big men", politicians, custom officers et al. Most of them have piggy-backed on family name and connection to "make" it today the Femi Otedola 'way'. God pass dem sey us wey no be big man pikin were able to go abroad and succeed via dint of talent and ability. A few of them actually came to the Uk , over the years, but they always run back to Nigeria to 'hustle'. I could have told them to keep their lazy b.u.tts in Naija.

Today, when I am in Lagos, I shun most of these chaps because they remain precisely the same way they were i.e arrogant, elitist and unable to see beyond money and hedonism. All they want to do is go to Ikoyi club and society Parties . I just look at them as kids who have failed to grow up mentally into adults useful to society and Nigeria. Many Nigerians know what and who the likes of these guys are, so admiration is the last thing I will have for them even if they are worth $50 billion.

B