By Gift Chapi Odekina
The House of Representatives ad-hoc committee on oil subsidy has said that it will investigate to determine the total and actual consumption of the oil as reflected in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) report for subsidy.
Ibrahim Aliyu, chairman of the ad-hoc committee which was set up to investigate petroleum products subsidy regime from 2017 to 2021 said this while addressing journalists in Abuja.
Aliyu also disclosed that the panel will probe direct sales and direct purchase arrangement for petroleum products which have affected the growth of oil industry for many years.
The House had raise the committee after it adopted a motion sponsored by
Sergius Ogun from Edo State who expressed worry that the consumption rate of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS) is 40million to 45million litres per
day but NNPC uses 65 million to 100 million litres per day to determine subsidy as discoverable from its monthly reports to the Federal Allocation Committee.
The lawmaker also expressed worry that: “the subsidy regime has been unscrupulously used by the NNPC and other critical stakeholders to subvert the nation’s crude oil revenue to the tune of over 10 billion US dollars, with records showing that as at 2021, over 7 billion US dollars in over 120 million barrels have been so diverted.”
Consequently, the ad-hoc committee chairman said his team will also determine the impact of subsidy on the Nigerian economy and examine the state of Nigerian refineries which has become comatose and are undergoing rehabilitation.
According to Aliyu subsidy is “an issue that concerns all of us. It concerns the economy of our beloved country Nigeria and I don’t want to pre-empt the findings of the committee but actually there are issues that we are concerned about.
“Specifically this committee is going to work on the subsidy regime. We need to understand what subsidy is all about. In the market today those of us that use diesel, know that because there is no subsidy on diesel, if you go to buy it is as high as N800 per litre.
“The PMS you buy at N165 but try and check the global market, even the neighboring countries, how much are they selling a litre of PMS then you will understand the country subsidises that price for you to be able to afford to buy and make life easier. So within this a lot now comes in.
“The direct sale direct purchase -you give the crude oil in exchange of the refined products. What litres of crude oil oil do we give in exchange of what litres of refined products? How many litres of refined petroleum products are imported daily and how many are utilised?
“Now we have a committee that is trying to check the actual rate of consumption. So we will do the maths and interrelate. There would actually be synergy between this committee and the actual amount of fuel consumed daily and to know how much Nigerian government is paying or sacrificing for the convenience of the fellow citizens.”
He assured Nigerians that the committee will work in the interest of Nigerians without recourse to any interference even from highly placed people in the country.
“We are here to serve our dear nation. We are for Nigeria first. We are concerned about the plight of over 200 million Nigerians. And I believe the traditional leaders, our fathers are also seriously concerned. Eminent personalities in the country are also disturbed about what is happening in the country.
“So, seeing that we are out to change the status quo, I believe instead of what you are thinking about, the calls we would receive from them would be a positive call to do the right thing and we are going to do the right thing,” Aliyu said.
Also speaking, Benjamin Kalu, spokesperson of the House said setting up the ad-hoc committee to investigate subsidy regime was not a jamboree as insinuated but the urgent need to address the recurring issue in the oil industry which hampers the nation’s development.
He said: “The House is not here for jamboree and none of committee chairmen is engaged in jamborees, whether it is substantive committees or adhoc committees. You should know that the work is not as easy as a one week or two weeks job. It takes a lot of analysis, a lot of consulting, analysis of data for you to get a report that would help government formulate better policies.
“This is all important committee that Nigerians have been waiting for in the sense that there has been a lot of questions as to what is our consumption rates, how much have we spent on subsidy, is subsidy coming back, will it help us to augment the gap created in the supply sector of gas and oil?
“So those questions would be addressed by this committee. The membership of the committee was selected from across board; different committees of the House that has to do with oil and gas and also the leadership of the House.
