The source, who told our correspondent
about the list in the President’s
possession, said the US gave Buhari two
separate lists – one listing the names of
top government officials who have been
stealing the country’s oil, using their high
offices to perpetrate the stealing; and the
other containing the names of illegal oil
bunkerers.
The United States of America has handed over
the names of Nigerian oil thieves to President
Muhammadu Buhari, a member of the
President’s entourage during last week’s visit to
the US confided in The PUNCH on Tuesday.
“I can tell you that the President already has the
list of names of the people engaging in the
stealing of Nigeria’s oil. The list, when released
by the President, will shock Nigerians. But let’s
wait and see first,” the source said.
The source said Buhari was taken aback when
he saw the names on the list and that the list
given to the President by the US might compel
him to probe the administration of former
President Goodluck Jonathan.
A Presidency source also confirmed that Buhari
had such a list but that “the President has been
keeping the list to himself.”
The source, who told our correspondent about
the list in the President’s possession, said the
US gave Buhari two separate lists – one listing
the names of top government officials who have
been stealing the country’s oil, using their high
offices to perpetrate the stealing; and the other
containing the names of illegal oil bunkerers.
The President had said last week that some
ministers in the cabinet of Jonathan were
stealing as much as 250,000 barrels of Nigeria’s
crude daily.
The Presidency source, who spoke to one of our
correspondents on condition of anonymity, said
Buhari had vowed that those whose names
appeared on the list would not go scot-free.
“The President will probe all of them and make
sure they return whatever fortune they had made
from their thievery,” the source said.
The source said the President was already
tinkering with the idea of constituting a panel to
investigate those on the list with a view to
arriving at how to deal with them based on the
findings of the committee.
However, it was gathered that, unlike the usual
probe panels, the President would likely set up a
special security team to handle the probe.
The PUNCH learnt that the names on the list of
oil thieves are a mixture of highly placed
government officials, and retired and serving
military officers.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Congress said on
Tuesday that it supported the probe of the
Jonathan administration by Buhari in the light of
mind-boggling corruption that had been
uncovered by the Federal Government.
“Some people have insinuated that the Buhari
administration should ignore the massive looting
of our patrimony and move on. We say no
responsible government can afford to do that,
because it will amount to endorsing corruption
and impunity,’’ the party said in a statement
issued in Abuja by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.
The APC said billions of dollars had been
skimmed off by “pathologically-corrupt public
officials” in the oil sector alone, wondering how
the government of the day could meet its
obligations to the citizens if it refused to recover
the huge funds taken away by thieving officials
Mohammed’s statement read, ‘‘It is an irony
that those who are suggesting that the Buhari
administration should turn a blind eye to the
incomprehensible looting are the same ones
accusing the government of not doing anything.
“It is even a cruel irony that the same party that
presided over what is fast emerging as the worst
governance in the history of our country is the
same one that is daily bad-mouthing an
administration that is cleaning up its mess.
‘‘Where does one start from? Is it the fact that
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
failed to remit N3.8tn to the Federation Account
or the mind-blowing stealing of 250,000 barrels
of crude oil per day?
“Is it the fact that the NNPC itself does not
know how many bank accounts it had or into
which ones the payments for Nigerian crude are
made? Could anyone have imagined that a
government minister would steal the
unprecedentedly-huge amount of US $6bn of
public funds as being alleged?
‘‘How does any sane person rationalise the fact
that $1bn was unilaterally and illegally
withdrawn from the Excess Crude Account just
because, as the immediate past Minister of
Finance has disclosed, the President ordered the
withdrawal? What about the billions of naira
waivers recklessly approved to dubious importers
by the Jonathan administration?”
It added, ‘‘Is it not clear now that the stealing
and the profligacy – more than anything else,
including the fall in oil price – helped to
drastically reduce the monthly allocation from
the Federation Account from about N800bn to
about N400bn , thus pauperising the states and
the local governments, and by extension the
citizenry?
“Against the background of the stunning
revelations, what message will any government
be sending to its citizens and indeed the global
community by looking the other way, when it
could still recover some of the looted funds for
the benefit of the people?
“This is why we are supporting the Buhari
administration’s probe decision and we are
calling on all Nigerians to support ongoing
efforts to get to the root of the matter.”
The APC said it was clear that the Jonathan
administration had deliberately delayed giving
the then incoming Buhari government the
handover notes so as to avoid being asked
critical questions pertaining to the looting under
its watch.
Also, the Peoples Democratic Party said it was
on the same page with Buhari in the fight against
corruption, but that due process must be
followed.
The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity
Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in Abuja on
Tuesday, said the clarification became necessary
so as to remove any misconception that it was
against the decision of the present
administration to probe some past officials of
government because they were PDP members.
Metuh said, “The PDP supports the decision of
the Federal Government to fight corruption in our
country.
“However, we make bold to state that it should
not be disguised to victimise innocent citizens.
Democracy has come to stay in Nigeria and no
citizen, irrespective of political, religious or ethnic
affiliation, should be denied access to due
process and the rule of law in the process.”
He added, “Furthermore, we make bold to state
that he who comes to equity must come with
clean hands. In that regard, therefore, we advise
members of the APC blowing the horn ahead of
the cart to keep quiet because many of them
have been major beneficiaries of corruption and
sleaze associated with themselves and their
allies, especially one of them who as a disguised
errand boy of a well-known APC leader is a
major beneficiary of the largesse of perpetrators
of corruption.
“Apart from Mr. President, who for now, is not
associated with any sleaze or corrupt activity in
this democracy, most APC leaders are still those
who as governors, ministers and labour leaders
have been the worst corrupt set of Nigerians
ever to bestride the political landscape of the
country.
“It is a great miscarriage of perception therefore
for the APC leaders who are perpetrators of
sleaze and corrupt acts to attempt to deceive
Nigerians with imaginary holiness in this anti-
corruption war by the President.”
Consequently, he called on the President, as the
leader of the APC to remove the log in the eyes
of his party while “we support his commitment
to remove the speck from the eyes of others.”
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