The recently constituted Ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives charged with the responsibility of investigating subsidy payments on petroleum products between 2017 and 2021, has declared that no amount of external pressure will deter it from doing the right thing in the interest of Nigeria and the citizens.
Speaking at the the weekend, Chairman of the panel, Hon. Ibrahim Aliyu said if calls come from eminent Nigerians to the panel at any instance, it is expected to be for commendation and a charge to do the right thing. “We’re going to do the right thing”, he said.
The lawmaker who appeared at a media briefing alongside spokesman of the House, Hon. Benjamin Kalu , explained that the committee will focus mainly on determining the total and actual daily consumption of the products as reflected in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited’s report for subsidy payments within the period under review.
The committee was raised on Thursday, after the House adopted a motion sponsored by Sergius Ogun who expressed worries specifically on the reported figures of consumption rate of Petroleum Motor Spirit (PMS), put at between 40 million and 45 million litres per day, while NNPC Limited uses 65 million to 100 million litres per day to determine subsidy payments on the product.
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.
“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 neighbouring 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 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?”, he said these are questions the panel will try get answers to.
Also speaking, Kalu, said setting up the ad-hoc committee to investigate subsidy regime was not a jamboree as insinuated but fallout of an urgent need to address the recurring issue in the oil industry. “The House is not here for jamboree and none of the committee chairmen is engaged in jamborees, whether it is substantive committees or Ad hoc 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”, he noted.
