N6.7trn oil subsidy: Reps summons Emefiele, Nami

A special Ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives investigating the nation’s subsidy payments on petroleum products since 2013 to date, has expressed displeasure with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over its failure to provide it with details of the payment.

The Hon. Almustapha Aliyu-led panel on Thursday further fumed on the failure of the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mohammad Nami to appear before the committee to respond to the issues involved, especially with the alarming revelation that about N6.7 trillion may have been spent on petrol subsidy this year alone, insisting that the duo must personally appear, (Nami on August 16, and Emefiele on 18th).

An assistant Director, Banking Services, Huseini Kagara, who led the CBN representative team, and a personal aide to Chairman of the FIRS, Gabriel Ogunjemiluri were turned back by the committee on grounds that they lack the competence to respond to questions on the information being sought by the panel, more that none of them had authority letter from their respective principals for such representation.

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A member of the committee, Hon. Mark Gbillah, who dropped the observation that the representation was poor, noted; “It is said that N6.7 trillion in less than a year is being expended on subsidy. We could expect that the CBN Governor would come here personally to address such an issue and the FIRS chairman as well. I guess they believe this issue is not important enough for them to be here.

“So, Mr Chairman in my own opinion, I don’t think we should bother hearing any of the representatives of these two agencies that are here today. We would like the CBN Governor and FIRS Chairman to be here in person before this honourable committee of the House, to address this critical issue”.

The drama was nailed when chairman of the committee asked the CBN representative whether he can address all questions from members of the panel, and in response he said, “If all the questions that you are going to ask are related to technical matters that concern subsidy payments, I will be able to provide answers here but if they are outside the technical aspects of the subsidy transaction then I will not be able to respond”.

To this, the committee leader said, “there are areas that you cannot answer, you see this is the fundamental reason why the senior members of the management are supposed to appear before the committee. We are left with no alternative than follow the procedure of the House”.