THERE was a mild drama on Wednesday at the ongoing House of Representatives probe on subsidy regime, as one of the major oil importers, Mallam Saminu

Rabiu, who was paid N2.3 billion from the petroleum subsidy fund, took to his heels immediately he was asked to go having claimed that he was sick.

Mallam Rabiu, Managing Director of Almimui Resources, Lagos, who appeared along with one Aminu Mohammed before the panel, did not come with any medical report and other relevant documents to support his claim.

The drama started when the chairman of the committee, Honourable Farouk Lawan, demanded the actual amount paid the company as subsidy, the staff strength of the company and the documents to back up his claims of importation and why he appeared before the committee casually.

Rather than providing answers to the questions asked by the panel, Mallam Rabiu kept mute and used sign language to direct Mallam Mohammed to take over from him.

Addressing the panel, Mallam Mohammed said that the company received N2.3 billion as fuel subsidy in 2011 and that the company had about six staff, stressing that Mallam Rabiu had been bedridden for a year now.

Mallam Mohammed further stunned the panel when he said that he knew nothing about the company and that he was not in the company’s employ when it took the N2.3 billion fuel subsidy fund.

According to him, “I only accompanied Mallam Rabiu to this panel right away from the hospital where he had been bedridden for a long time now, because of the respect we have for the panel. You can look at him; he looks sick.”

At this stage, Honourable Lawan, who was sympathetic towards Mallam Rabiu, asked the other members of the panel to allow him to go and appear before the panel with relevant documents at a later date.

Honourable Lawan had hardly finished his address when Mallam Mohammed and Rabiu vacated their seats, walked sluggishly outside the venue and Rabiu took to his heels to the amazement of journalists and onlookers.

Meanwhile, the panel alleged that Vitol Oil Company aided and abetted illicit oil trading by some Nigerian importers by circumventing the regulations of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Other multinational companies invited by the panel, Transfigura, Sahara Energy and Duke Oil, are to appear before the committee on Tuesday, February 14, to clarify the level of their participation in the importation and delivery of petroleum products to the Nigerian companies that allegedly benefitted from over N1.7 trillion subsidy between 2006 and now.

The panel had while reviewing documents submitted by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and various importers, alleged that Vitol evaded payment of levies on mother vessels and failed to adhere to international best practice on exportation of petroleum products.

To ascertain the claims of various importers and marketers, the committee asked Vitol to produce relevant documents, including the list of companies that bought petroleum products in Nigeria, especially the Mobil importation documents worth N1.3 billion.

But the Managing Director of Vitol Oil, Rodney Gavshon, disclosed that the company had never issued any bill of laden to Wogul and that the company ceded collaboration with NNPC as a business decision.

He explained that the company paid three major levies, namely security, inspection and STS operation but that the company was not aware of any other duties and that there was no payment on mother vessel to the Federal Government.     http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/front-page-news/35716-fuel-subsidy-drama-as-sick-importer-takes-to-his-heels