Date Published: 11/02/09

Sir,

NNPC clique and pocketing of N75m daily

After reading the front page of ThisDay newspaper of Saturday October 24, 2009, captioned ‘How NNPC Clique Pockets N75m Daily from Fuel Imports’, I further pitied my country. I am in this mourning because I know that the President would still not act after reading the newspaper belonging to his friend that has been helping him in various ways including the recent Sylva-Alaibe widely reported personal quarrels and settlement, which the President shameful got involved; as if he has no other important national assignments that should occupy his time.

It is a popularly held view that this government would do nothing about the report in the newspaper concerning the corruption in the Ministry of Petroleum, nay NNPC, which has kept the nation’s refineries in perpetual detention. Alhaji Barkindo who was Personal Assistance to the Minister of Petroleum Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, is now the Group Managing Director of NNPC and we are celebrating him and his masters. They remain untouchables while the nation in deep serious trouble and the masses are soon to be made to bear the brunt of deregulating self-inflicted, non-existent subsidy on local fuel consumed, before the year runs out, which might result in petrol costing above N100/liter.

It has now been established that the mafia receives commission of N75million (US$500,000) from international commodity oil traders (Trafigura, Glencore and Vitol) that lift our crude oil and import refined ones back for our local consumption; the commission is share among the departments in the Ministry of Petroleum, namely NNPC and PPMC, as revealed by ThisDay investigations.

The masses should rise against this ineptitude, corruption, insensitive, callous actions of the federal government. Our refineries must work and many people wishing to establish small scale refineries should be granted licenses to carry on with activities that would promote both employment and relief to the common man. Enough is enough; after reading the detailed explanation of Chief Niyi Akintola, SAN, recently in the Daily Champion newspaper, I got convinced that there were no subsidies to be removed from fuel locally consumed.

Eno Samuel

Oron Road

UYO, Akwa Ibom.