FORMER governor of Kwara State
and senator representing Kwara Central, Bukola
Saraki, has said that Nigeria was losing a total of $2
billion to fake fuel subsidy operators, insisting that the
fuel subsidy management in the country was a very big
platform for fraud.
Saraki, who regretted that the alleged fraud in the
scheme was being allowed to fester by the Federal
Government, urged the incoming administration of
General Muhammadu Buhari to completely remove the
fuel subsidy and restore normalcy to the petroleum
sector.
Speaking to newsmen, yesterday, in Abuja, the senator
accused the government of issuing import licenses to
very bogus number of companies totaling 82 and being
used by oil marketers and government officials to rip off
the national treasury on yearly basis.
He argued that it would be better to remove the fuel
subsidy and deliver the sector and the citizenry from
the grip of racketeers in the industry, who would never
allow things to work well because of their personal
aggrandizement.
According to him, subsidy in itself was never a problem
to the country but the bad management of the subsidy,
which he said had been turned into a huge racket that
created the lingering crisis in the oil sector.
He said: “No matter what is happening now, if you go
back to look at it, the major issue that dwindled us was
the subsidy management. We are talking of about
minimum of over $32 billion wasted on it over the last
five to six years.
“That is the difference between where we are now and
that time. It has impacted on our exchange rate, it is
going to impact on our infrastructure, there is no
money for capital budget.
Speaking on his ambition of becoming the next Senate
President, Saraki maintained that he had the capacity,
competence and the will power to drive the 8th Senate
to reposition the country towards rapid socio-economic
development, advising the elected Senators of the All
Progressives Congress, APC, to focus on competence,
capacity and merit in their choice of the next President
of the Senate and other principal officers rather than
on sentiments.
He said he had observed with dismay that Nigerians
were not receiving the needed services from their
elected representatives in the last many years of
democratic governance in the country because leaders
usually emerged through ethnic, religious and sectional
sentiments rather than on the basis of qualification and
competence.
Comments
Post a Comment