Jonathan paid subsidy on 30m litres, Buhari pays on 50m litres – Saraki

The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki, Director General of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Campaign Council, in a media interaction raised alarm over the rate of profligacy and purported fraud being perpetuated in the government of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) which he said President Muhammadu Buhari cannot claim to be unaware of in his fight against corruption. He said there is massive fraud in the Buhari administration.

Saraki in interview with Channels Television, stated that paying subsidy on the assumption that Nigeria consumes 50 million litres of petrol per day, is fraudulent.

Saraki comparatively noted that in the Jonathan administration, subsidy was based on an assumption that the Nigerians consume 30 million litres of petrol daily, saying that Buhari increased the volume of assumed consumption by 20 million liters per day.

Saraki stated that he and some other lawmakers had cautioned that the Jonathan administration was condoning corruption “by over importing fuel and because of that we were losing a lot of money”.

The DG of the PDP Presidential Campaign Council decried that the APC government rather than reviewing the process to prune down the cost, jerked up the importation by 20 million litres extra daily consumption assumption.

“You would have thought that a government that was to fight corruption and prevent leakages would even if you are going to continue subsidy, ensure that it is better managed,” he stated.

Saraki contested that there is no way Nigerians can consume 50 million litres a day; “it is just money being stolen,” he declared.

The DG also contended that there is almost no way that President Muhammadu Buhari is not aware of what is going on within his government, saying that the Senate has investigated the issue but “we have an environment where agencies of government are emboldened to disregard the National Assembly, it is a big issue”.

The Senate President also said that the lawmakers have called for the inclusion of subsidy in the budget but that request has lingered for two years and President Buhari only just agreed to bring it in.

“This kind of decisions have led to leakages and this is the root of corruption,” Saraki had said.