Nigeria loses $2bn annually to fake subsidy operators —Saraki on may 26, 2015

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru & Joseph Erunke

ABUJA—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.