Subsidy Report: I Have Been Vindicated —Yishawu

The lawmaker representing Eti-Osa Constituency 2 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Gbolahan Yishawu, has said that the report of the Farouk Lawan Committee of the House of Representatives on the management of petroleum products since 2009 in the country has confirmed his position that the subsidy figure itself was fraud.

The announcement of the fuel subsidy removal by President Goodluck Jonathan had polarised the House with some in favour of subsidy removal while others were against it.

When the subject came up for debate at the floor of the House, Yishawu was able to break down the issues involved with the petroleum sector as well as what it would cost the country to build more refineries.

Using government figures of the amount of petrol consumed daily in the country, the lawmaker convinced majority of the members of the House that the figure being touted by the government as subsidy claims were frivolous.

Reacting to the findings of the probe Committee, which has indicted several fuel marketers and top government officials, Yishawu said it was a monumental disgrace that agencies of the Federal Government like the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Authority (PPPRA) and others operated as laws unto themselves.

“The subsidy regime, as we suspected, had been turned into a huge bazaar, a free-for-all market where all manner of unwholesome activities were being perpetrated.

“It is unfortunate that the EFCC and other law enforcement organs are only just being prompted to investigate such level of criminality allegedly perpetrated by one Accountant General who paid out N999 million 128 times within 24 hours to unknown entities.

“I salute the courage of this Committee and enjoin the House and all organs of government to ensure that this report is not swept under the carpet,” he said while declaring his support for the recommendation which suggested the unbundling of the NNPC, an agency he described as a government of its own.

“All companies and individuals indicted should not only refund immediately, they must be prosecuted,” he added.