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PPPRA Vindicates Gombe State Governor on Mystery Subsidy Payments

By on April 24, 2012

N 999 million fuel subsidy paid to hitherto unknown firms 128 times in one day.

The PPPRA has dispelled the charges of corruption surrounding the payments that brought  former Accountant General and present Governor of Gombe state, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo into the limelight on suspicion of culpability.

The PPPRA stated that there was no case of corruption involved as the payments were to different companies for different amounts of subsidy payments owed to them. The agency explained that federal fiscal prevent government agencies of issuing cheques of N 1 billion and above.

The companies and the amounts paid them were identified as Messrs Oil and Gas Limited which received N20.979bn; Oando Plc, N25.974bn; AP Plc, N18.981bn; Brittania-U Nigeria Limited, N999m; Aiteo Energy Reserve Limited, N5.994; Triquest Energy Limited, N5,994bn; and Imad Oil and Gas Limited, N5.994bn. Rahamaniyya Oil & Gas Limited, N11.988bn; Northwest Petroleum and Gas, N8.991bn; Conoil Plc, N4.995bn; Acorn Nigeria Plc, N4.995bn; A-Z Petroleum Limited, N999m; Total Plc, N999m; Folawiyo Energy Limited, N7.992bn; and Integrated Oil & Gas Limited, N1.998bn.

The Executive Secretary of PPPRA, Mr. Reginald Stanley said “Although there were not 128 marketers under the scheme at that time, 128 cheques representing multiple payments were issued to 15 participating marketers.

“The payments had fallen due but were paid together in January 2009. In line with government financial regulation at the period, government agencies were not permitted to issue a cheque of one billion naira and above.

“At the period of the payment approval, the marketers were owed several billions cumulatively and as such, payments were broken down to N999m per cheque in line with financial regulation.

“The allegations of fraudulent duplication of payments to unknown beneficiaries cannot be substantiated. This information is easily verifiable as the cheques issued were CBN cheques, the counterfoils of which are still available.

“The similarities of the figures derived from the adherence to financial regulation and not of fraud as indicated in the report.”