Senate wants subsidy cabal punished

The Senate has backed punishment for officials involved in the diversion of fuel subsidy.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information and Media, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said in Abuja on Tuesday government’s directive to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to probe subsidy payments was a welcome development.

He said, “We think that those economic saboteurs should be brought to book. The Senate is fully behind this because the Senate started this investigation and the senate is also very willing to go all out to make sure that Nigeria is a country where everybody’s interest is fully protected.

“Many things were revealed in our investigation; and it led to the naming of all those who unduly profited from the subsidy and we call on the investigative agencies that have already moved into action to ensure that no one is spared because those are the people that have brought us to this avoidable hardship.”

Abaribe noted that the government should ensure that the outcome of the meeting between Labour and the Belgore committee was implemented.

He said, “What we seek today is to ensure that whatever decisions are going to come out of the meeting between the Belgore committee and labour should be faithfully implemented.

“And the only way you can bring the two sides together is not to take side prior to the negotiations; that is why it seems as if the senate didn’t come out frontally to make a pronouncement but l think events as at today has shown that the senate took the best possible position and helped to douse an imminent crisis that would’ve engulfed our nation.”

The Senate also stood down the report of its joint committee on Finance, Appropriation and National Planning on the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, because it did not capture the present situation on subsidy.

President Goodluck Jonathan had submitted the framework with the proposal to phase out the subsidy regime beginning from 2012.

It was the reasoning within the Senate that since the government had settled for a phased deregulation, the report should be sent back for further work.

The committee, led by Senator Ahmmad Maccido, had submitted that the proposal on fuel subsidy as contained in the framework was premature as consultations were still ongoing.

It recommended that sources other than relying on savings from proposed subsidy removal, as part of financing item for expected deficit should be explored.

“In the event of any subsidy withdrawal all savings must be captured in safety net for targeted expenditures,” the committee recommended.