Fuel Subsidy Biggest Fraud In Nigeria -Saraki

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News, Politics Monday, May 25th, 2015

Ayodele Afolabi, Abuja – Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki (APC Kwara Central) has declared that fuel subsidy management in Nigeria is the biggest platform for fraud in the country.

He said that the subsidy is in form of huge rackets being used by oil marketers and government officials to rip off the national treasury on yearly basis.

He said the fraud in the scheme was allowed to fester by government through issuance of import licenses to very bogus number of companies totaling 82 now, with many of them not having the required facilities for such very sensitive national economy assignment with attendant collection of $2billion on yearly basis for products largely not supplied.

Saraki, who stated this while fielding questions from journalists in his Abuja residence, on his ambition of becoming the next President of the Senate and other critical national issues, urged the Federal Government to take the bull by the horn by completely removing the fuel subsidy and restoring normalcy to the sector.

Saraki also maintained that he had the capacity, competence and the will power to drive the 8th Senate to reposition the country towards rapid socio-economic development, advising the elected Senators of the All Progressives Congress, APC, to focus on competence, capacity and merit in their choice of the next President of the Senate and other principal officers rather than on sentiments.

He argued that it would be better to remove the fuel subsidy and deliver the sector and the citizenry from the grip of racketeers in the industry, who would never allow things to work well because of their personal aggrandizement.

According to him, subsidy in itself was never a problem to the country but the bad management of the subsidy, which he said had been turned into a huge racket created the lingering crisis in the oil sector.

He said: “No matter what is happening now, If you go back to look at it, the major issue that dwindled us was the subsidy management. We are talking of about minimum of over $32billion wasted on it over the last five to six years.

” That is the difference between where we are now and that time. It has impacted on our exchange rate, it is going to impact on our infrastructure, there is no money for capital budget.”.

On his political ambition to become the President of the 8th Senate, he stated that he had observed with dismay that Nigerians were not receiving the needed services from their elected representatives in the last many years of democratic governance in the country because leaders usually emerged through ethnic, religious and sectional sentiments rather than on the basis of qualification and competence.

He noted that the electorate had been complaining that they were not feeling the impact of the National Assembly because many things were not done right, stressing that Nigerians should de-emphasize sentiments and go for those who could deliver the desired dividends of democracy to the people.

The former Governor of Kwara State also noted that the APC won the last general elections because the people were tired of the old retrogressive way of doing things and resolved to vote for change, in order to usher in new and better ways of running public affairs to yield the desired result.