Jonathan sets up panel to review Ribadu’s report

Certainly, Nigeria’s government works in a byzantine way and the Jonathan government is working hard to seal its image as the master of the art.

Just when Nigerians were condemning the attempt by government to consign into the dustbin the report by former EFCC chair, Nuhu Ribadu on the oil industry, and when the official position has even been demonstrated with comments that Ribadu ‘exaggerated’ the state of the industry, the Jonathan government has pulled from its hat another trick.

Today, President Jonathan announced the setting up of a review panel to prepare a white paper draft on the report of the Petroleum Special task Force, which Ribadu headed. And expectedly, another committee will be set up after this to prepare a final ‘white paper report’.

The government statement, by spokesman, Reuben Abati, said two other committees will also submit white papers on the reports of the National Refineries Special Task Force and the Governance and Controls Special Task Force.

President Jonathan said the committees were set up in furtherance of his declared commitment to doing all within his powers to ensure greater accountability, probity and transparency in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.

The Committees are to study the reports, review the issues raised and prepare draft White Papers for the consideration of the Federal Executive Council within two weeks, the government said.

The White Paper Committee on the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force Report will be chaired by the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, with the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, Minister of State, FCT, Oloye Jumoke Akinjide, and the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs II: Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed as members.

The White Paper Committee on the report of the Governance and Controls Special Task Force will be chaired by the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Ms. Ama Pepple. Other members of the committee are Minister of State, Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, and Minister of State for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mallam Bukar Tijani.

The White Paper Committee on the report of the National Refineries Special Task Force has Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Mohammed Sada as Chairman, and Hon. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, Minister of State for Health, Dr. Muhammad Pate and Minister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyeson Wike as members.

The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation will provide secretariat for the Committees.

The Ribadu report concluded that oil majors- Shell, Total and Eni made bumper profits from cut-price gas, while Nigerian oil ministers handed out licences at their own discretion. This, while not illegal, did not follow best practice of using open bids. Hundreds of millions of dollars in signature bonuses on those deals were also missing, it said.

The report alleges international oil traders sometimes buy crude without any formal contracts, and the state oil firm had short-changed the Nigerian treasury of billions of Naira over the last 10 years by selling crude oil and gas to itself below market rates.

Controversy over the report started when the oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke said the report in circulation was a draft, even though it bore the title “the final report’.

An embarrassed President Goodluck Jonathan ordered that the report be presented to him within days. But on the day of presentation, two members of the committee, with former Head of Service Steve Aronsaye as arrow head, denounced it as not representative of the views of all members. Ribadu retorted that Oronsaye, now a board member of the NNPC, never attended the meeting of the committee for a day.

Last week, Dr. Doyin Okupe, Jonathan’s special assistant on public communications said the report should be taken lightly as it came with a disclaimer, urging government to verify some figures. The disclaimer, Okupe said was contained in a paragraph of the report, which says: “Due to the 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.”

Okupe said the paragraph “is an obvious DISCLAIMER (emphasis his) issued by the committee on the entire report, makes it impossible under our laws to indict or punish anyone except, and until, the Federal Government fully verifies and reconciles the facts as recommended by the committee in its submission to the government.”