Petrol. PHOTO: GOOGLE.COM/SEARCH
The Senate yesterday described the introduction of the N26 subsidy on the pump price of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) also known as petrol, as completely illegal and unwarranted.
To this extent, the senate announced that it would begin an open investigation to expose the roles played by every official of government in the matter.
Briefing journalists on the fuel crisis that has caused untold hardship on Nigerians, the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) said there was never a time that any request was brought to the National Assembly for approval in respect of the introduction of any subsidy.
It stressed that the constitution is very categorical about the fact that no money could be spent without approval by the National Assembly.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Kabiru Marafa, disclosed that the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, and the Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mainkanti Baru, had already been invited to answer questions on the subsidy matter.
Baru had last week announced that petrol was being subsidised to the tune of N26 per litre because the landing cost is N171 per litre, saying subsidising the product is the only thing that could allow its cost to remain at its present pump price of N145 per litre.
The NNPC boss also explained that the consumption of PMS had risen to over 50 million litres per day due to hoarding and diversion, adding that the product was being smuggled across the borders because of the price disparity that exists between Nigeria and the neighbouring countries.
He said the cost, insurance and freight price of PMS is $620 per metric tonne, adding that at N305 to a dollar, the landing cost translates to N171 per litre.
But the Senate committee, at a press conference yesterday, said it would go to any length to stop the new subsidy, lamenting that it was sad that this administration, which came in to fight the corruption in the oil industry, has been associated with suspicious deals too.
