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Subsidy: 50 Oil Firms Collected N232 billion Illegally- Okonjo-Iweala

By on December 4, 2012

A Petrol Station Attendant Dispensing Fuel

Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said Fifty oil marketers illegally collected N232 billion from the Federal Government as fuel subsidy.

Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who doubles as the Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy said the government has recovered only N29 billion through debt swap.

Speaking at the 18th Nigerian Economic Summit meeting in Abuja, Okonjo-Iweala said the fraud was revealed by a forensic investigation carried out by the government.

She said the government brought together 20 forensic experts from both the central bank and PriceWaterHouse Coopers to check and audit, “after four months we got results.”

“Last week, the work was submitted to Mr. President and of the amount verified, they have determined N232 billion. You know they came out with N270 billion initially; now they are out with N232 billion claims of oil subsidy that are not substantiated or fraudulent.”

According to her, the government has started recovering the claims from the affected marketers, based on the report of the forensic investigation.

She vowed that the government would recover the money and would not leave any of the fraudulent marketers get away with the criminal act.

She however regretted that the forensic investigation and the process to indict the fraudulent marketers have slowed down oil importation.

“We are going through forensic investigation because it is the kind of work that requires in-depth investigation and that is because we want to do a thorough job on the matter because Nigerians want government to take corruption out of the way so that we can be like other nations of the world where things are done properly,” Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said.