Senate summons, Okonjo-Iweala,Madueke, Sanusi, others

ABUJA— THE Senate has summoned the
Ministers of Finance and Petroleum, Dr.
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Mrs. Diezani
Alison-Madueke respectively, to appear
before it and explain the alleged
overshooting of oil subsidy funds from
N240 billion appropriated in the 2011
budget by National Assembly to N1.5
trillion.
Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Lamido
Sanusi Lamido and the Comptroller
General of Nigerian Customs Service, NSC,
Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi were also
summoned by the Senate Joint
Committee probing the utilisation of
subsidy funds.
Chairman of the Joint Committee
comprised of Senate Committees on
Finance, Appropriation and Petroleum
Downstream, Senator Magnus Abe, who
briefed journalists in Abuja said the
government officials will appear on
Thursday to explain the alleged
mismanagement of the subsidy funds.
He said: “We will meet with the
government agencies involved in the oil
subsidy to get a clear brief from them as
to the origin, nature, history and
everything official about the operation
of the oil subsidy in this country.
“The invitation by the joint committee to
the government officials involved in the
management of the fuel subsidy scheme
states clearly that the committee has
resolved to request their reactions in a
written brief.
“We also said that the written brief
should explain the entire procedure for
administering the subsidy, sources of
the fund and why they have been
unprecedented rise in the quantum of
subsidy in the later part of this year
than we had at the beginning.
“Those invited include Minister of
Finance, Mrs Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of
Petroleum, Diezani Madueke, the GMD of
NNPC, Governor of Central Bank of
Nigeria, Executive Secretary of the
PPPRA, CG of Nigerian Custom Service,
the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports
Authority as well as Chief of Naval Staff.”
Abe assured that the probe would be
transparent and open for all Nigerians to
make their contributions, adding that it
was not a witch-hunting exercise
targeted at an institution or an
individual.
He said: “The meeting with these heads
of institutions and government agencies
would be opened to Nigerians. We
would meet them in an open fora and
whatever they have to say to us, people
would be privileged to hear whatever
they say.
“We want to assure Nigerians that this
process will be open, transparent and
whatever is the collective wisdom of the
members of committee, at the end of the
exercise, would be made available to the
Senate for them to take a decision and
also for Nigerians to see what we have
done.”