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Ribadu report: Group calls on the President to Fire Petroleum, Finance ministers

By on November 1, 2012

Minister of Finance, Okonjo Iweala; and Petroleum Minister Diezani Madueke

President Goodluck Jonathan has been urged to sack the Petroleum Resources and Finance Ministers, Mrs. Diezani Alison Madueke, and Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala respectively, following the controversy generated by disclosures from the Nuhu Ribadu led Petroleum Revenue Task Force (PRTF), which implicated government officials.

The president has also been charged to fire the boards and management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Addressing reporters in Abuja Wednesday, the National Convener of United Action for Democracy (UAD) Mr. Jaye Gaskia, and leader of the group further threatened to mobilize Nigerians to stage a mass protest in the city of Abuja should the president fail to heed to their demands.

 

The Ribadu panel revealed theft in the country’s oil and gas sector to the tune of over $29 billion, price fixing and contract scams with additional $6 billion lost yearly as well as 250,000 barrels of crude daily over the previous ten years.

 

Gaskia decried that Nigeria lost an equivalent of the total budget for 4 years in the past ten years.

 

“We are worried and concerned enough as patriotic citizens of our country to reach the conclusion that something drastic, immediate, and far-reaching must be urgently done to end all forms of impunity in the governance of our country, and begin the process of salvaging Nigeria. “ We declare without fear or fervor that with the campaign tagged, ‘End Impunity Now’ we insist that because of the endemic nature and systemic character of corruption in the country the process of ending impunity begins immediately with the tackling of corruption.”

 

“And we had gone on to make some key demands including: sacking of the boards and management of the institutions of government implicated in the mind boggling and monumental fraud in the management of the fuel subsidy regime for 2011, a fraud which as at the time of the various probes amounted to over 1.7 trillion naira, and just about 45 percent of the 2011 federal budget. We have been clear about the fact that the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and its minister, as well as the NNPC, DPR, PPMC, PPPRA, bore direct and greatest responsibility in the monumental fraud”, he stated.

 

According to him, “We had also stated clearly that given that manifestation of the complete lack of coordination in the economy and among relevant agencies and institutions with respect to the management of the subsidy fund, combined with the fact that monies were signed and paid out from the Federation Account without the knowledge or authorization of the minister of finance, who is also the coordinating minister of the economy that her office bore indirect responsibility for the fraud and barefaced looting of the economy.”

 

“We had thus demanded the sacking of all officials so implicated, and the trial of those with cases to answer. Additionally we had demanded that all subsidy thieves and those who aided and abetted them should be speedily brought to trial and looted funds recovered.”

 

He said the group has maintained its stand that the president should guarantee quick prosecution and conviction of indicted oil marketers and the officials that work together with them to steal from the oil revenue and other sources with all their names published for the members of the public to know them and their level of involvements.

8 Comments

  1. amen

    November 1, 2012 at 9:41 am

    I don’t understand this country. Some people stole money, you said they should be sacked. Where is the money. They should be jailed for life. I am sorry for taking it personal.

    • Precious Omoruyi

      November 1, 2012 at 11:16 am

      You have to take it personal, because as a Nigerian your future is as take, while others plaunder the treasury!

  2. mazimum

    November 1, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    They should be jailed and the key thrown away into the Atlantic Ocean….We are tired of all this nonsense for crying out loud…

  3. Jaspa Jacksparo

    November 1, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    some people are just senselessly confused, a report that claims that there has been massive fraud in the last 10 years or more and you are calling for the sack of the current handlers, so what happens to the other people that have been there for the past 10 years? All these jobless people that are busy forming senseless organisations with the sole aim of discrediting government, should please go get a life… where were U during the Farouk Lawangate?????

  4. Prince M. Olekanma

    November 1, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    Ribadu did well in his investigation, but he should use such skills to find out Northern leaders behind boko haran that has claimed thousand of lives and each outweighs our budget for uncountable years. He was there in government in the last ten years he is referring to and lacked such skills then, when Goodluck resigns and a northern leader is elected if necessary, he should make such findings. Goodluck is not Operation Flush director and should not be drawn to identified and established problems. The man has had enough problems to bother about, Ribadu and his protest group should wait for a northern president to emerge. They have been in power for decades and no such discovery had been made.

  5. alabi

    November 1, 2012 at 5:19 pm

    Get prepared for the true jury (Christ) will soon come………………………

  6. Oseun

    November 1, 2012 at 6:48 pm

    THIS ACTIVIST ARE FUNNY PEOPLE. WHAT HAS DR. IWEALA GOT TO DO WITH THE RIBADU REPORT?

    THOSE CALLING FOR THE SACK OF THE FINANCE MINISTER ARE EITHER INTELLECTUALLY BANKRUPT OR JUST PLAYING TO THE GALLERY!

    I SMELL SOMETHING HERE:

    THEY JUST WANNA MUDDLE UP THE WATER.

    PLEASE READ THIS EXCERPT FROM THE REPORT:

    ”THE 146-PAGE CONFIDENTIAL REPORT, ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCY, STATED THAT MINISTERS OF PETROLEUM RESOURCES BETWEEN 2008 AND 2011 HANDED OUT SEVEN DISCRETIONARY OIL LICENCES. IT SAID OUT OF THE DEAL, A TOTAL OF $183M (N28.73BN) IN SIGNATURE BONUSES PAID BY OIL COMPANIES TO THE FEDERATION WAS MISSING
    THREE OF THE OIL LICENCES WERE SAID TO HAVE BEEN AWARDED DURING THE TENURE OF THE CURRENT MINISTER, DIEZANI ALISON-MADUEKE, WHO TOOK UP HER POSITION IN 2010.”

    http://www.punchng.com/news/ribadu-report-presidency-denies-cover-up/

    WHERE WAS THE FINANCE MINISTER MENTIONED?

    THIS ACTIVIST NEED TO TAKE SOME SLEEPING PILLS!

  7. jackie

    November 5, 2012 at 9:34 am

    tribal fools. you guys have been on these ministers cases cos they are not yoruba or hausa…there is a special place in hell for all of you.