Ribadu report is incomplete, useless- Presidency

The report submitted by the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force (PRSTF) headed by Nuhu Ribadu is already losing its credibility just one week after submission, as the neutrality and fair mindedness of Ribadu and his team is already questioned.

 

At a news conference yesterday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, questioned the reliability of the report.

 

Meanwhile, Ribadu could not be reached for comments all yesterday, as he did not take his calls.

 

According to Okupe, the job of the Task Force was incomplete, he said the team failed to engage consultants, as stipulated in the terms of reference of the Task Force.

 

Okupe said, “The intention of President Jonathan was for the committee to do a holistic investigation into the intransigent challenges of our oil and gas industry in the past 10 years. Unfortunately, the committee has passed the job of verification and reconciliation back to the Federal Government.

 

“One of the major terms of reference of the committee was to work with consultants and experts to determine and verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues (taxes, royalties, etc) due and payable to the Federal Government of Nigeria. However, this aspect of the committee assignment was left undone.

 

“Unfortunately and most regrettably, this paramount duty of the PRSTF committee could not be accomplished as stated in paragraph four of the covering note signed by chairman and secretary of the committee.”

 

He particularly   faulted paragraph 4 of a November 1, 2012 covering memo from the PRSTF to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, signed by Ribadu and secretary of the Task Force, Mr. Olasupo Shasore SAN.

 

The paragraph reads, “The date used in this report was presented by various stakeholders who made submissions to the Task Force in the course of our assignment at various dates, which have been disclosed in relevant sections of the report.

 

“Due to time frame of the assignment, some of the data used could not be independently verified and the Task Force recommends that the Government should conduct such necessary verifications and reconciliations.”

 

He said the connotation of the said paragraph is that the committee had issued a disclaimer on its own report.

 

“This makes it impossible under our laws to indict or punish anybody, except, and until the Federal Government fully verifies and reconciles the facts as recommended by the committee in its submission to the government,” Okupe stated.

 

Okupe assured that after the government would have “rectified the incompleteness of the document,” a white paper would be issued on the report and that the recommendations would be implemented by the administration.

 

Okupe condemned politicisation of the report and hidden attempts in certain quarters to belittle the genuine efforts of President Jonathan to infuse sanity in the oil sector.

 

In his words, “There is a major public disinformation deliberately calculated to overheat the polity and cause disaffection and opprobrium against the President for doing what is right, what is needful and profitable for the nation.

 

“Ribadu, to some extent, deliberately or inadvertently encouraged this negativism by his claims on his Facebook page; that he resisted overtures to make him compromise the report.

 

“I challenge Ribadu to make public those that wanted him to doctor the report. His claim of an overture to him to compromise the report is perfidious and false.

 

“We respectfully enjoin Mallam Ribadu to be patriotic enough to name the proponents of this compromise. Ribadu claims that by serving on the committee, he is on the side of the Nigerian people.

 

“Then on whose side is President Jonathan whose idea it was in the first place to set up the Task Force and who approved the appointment of Mallam Ribadu as chairman of the committee?”

 

Okupe lamented the leakage of the report to Reuters, and other international news media.

He called on Nigerians to be calm that the Federal Government would work only with the report submitted by the Task Force.

 

 

4 Comments

1. 

   nobody

   November 9, 2012 at 9:18 am

   As Usual, Nigerian Circus In Action!!!
2. 

   Boko Horom

   November 9, 2012 at 10:59 am

   I wasnt expecting anything from them. Ribadu or Jonathan, they are all wasted fowl
3. 

   Neemat

   November 9, 2012 at 2:31 pm

   Jonathan is incompetence ,hardly could he resolved a single matter, Ribadu wanted to get things right and devil people around to spoil the show, if you rubbish this report, posterity will not forgive you?
4. 

   Olalekan Wasiu Kareem

   November 9, 2012 at 4:10 pm

   I have long known this Okupe to be a sycophant.When presidency said some cabal were behind the oil subsidy scandal, was name mentioned? Now you find Ribadu’s Committee report to be inconclusive on flimsy excuses. A professional Accountant not guided by Accounting ethics was given a conflicting dual role to play. You did not fault anything wrong in that. Go and read the downfall of Arthur Andersson and Enron Corporation.