The Senate has shot back at President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief of staff over his comment that passed the blame of the current fuel crisis to the upper chamber.
Senate spokesperson, Sabi Abdullahi, in a statement said Abba Kyari claimed oil marketers are being owed because the Senate failed to sign a loan request.
The Senate advised Kyari to stop advancing ‘false claim’ and shifting blames in the mould of ‘blaming someone else.’
“The Senate would want members of the public to know that no such request has been made to it specifically requesting for loan meant for payment to oil marketers,: said the lawmaker.
“The Senate is aware that subsidy on petroleum had been cancelled by this administration; so we wonder which payment we are talking about now.
“Senators have been inundated with calls from oil marketers who were present at the meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President on the issue and thus, we call on Mallam Kyari to either prove his claim or retract it,” the statement added.
In the statement, the Senate also referred to a claim by Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun that there are other requests for loans pending before the Senate.
“The letter requesting for the foreign loan was submitted long after she was confronted with the fact,” the statement noted.
“It is the opinion of the Senate that instead of resorting to false claims and shifting blames
in the mould of ‘ Blame Someone Else’, both the executive and legislature should work together to solve this unnecessary fuel crisis which is making life more difficult for our people.”
According to him, members of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) were mandated by the Senate President Bukola Saraki to suspend their recess and embark on oversight visits to key areas in the sector.
“The committee will ‘today’ (Thursday, January, 4th) hold an investigative public hearing with all stakeholders aimed at finding solution to the problem of fuel scarcity,” the statement added.