ten trillion Naira petroleum scandal, Jonathan, obj set to be probed by present administration

The Nigerian Senate has reportedly made a discovery of N10 trillion fraud in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Vanguard reports.

It was gathered that the alleged fraudulent act was carried out by NNPC staff in conjunction with independent marketers as well as other top shots in the petroleum sector between 2006 and 2016.

This revelation has made the Nigerian Senate committees on Petroleum (upstream and downstream) and Gas, come together to commence a probe of the government agencies, their heads, government parastatals and other companies involved.

President Muhammadu Buhari is said to be in support of the action by the Senate to carry out a thorough probe of those believed to be involved and ensure that the perpetrators are brought to book and adequately prosecuted.

Senator Kabiru Marafa, chairman, Senate committee on petroleum downstream while addressing journalists alongside other committee heads, informed that NNPC is expected to single-handedly explain the whereabouts of the N5.2trillion it collected as subsidy from the federal government during the period under review, for the importation of petroleum products, especially petrol

The corporation is also expected to explain what happened to the yearly allocation of 445,000 barrels of crude oil meant for the nation’s refineries for local consumption.Meanwhile, the group managing director of NNPC, Dr Maikanti Baru, has appealed to militants in the Niger Delta to stop attacks on oil facilities.

Baru made the appeal at the 26th edition of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Oloibiri Lecture Series and Energy Forum (OLEF) on Thursday in Abuja.

According to him, with Nigeria’s enormous reserves in gas as the 9th largest in the World, unemployment and infrastructural challenges can be tackled but the disruptions are crippling activities like power generation.

“On this note, I will like to use this medium to appeal to the militants in the Niger Delta to stop the attack on pipeline infrastructure to enable us sustain our plan and grow the industry for the benefit of all Nigerians.”