Non-payment of subsidy,looting of $12b domesticgas fund real causes of fuel scarcity– APC

The All ProgressivesCongress (APC) has said the real causes ofthe debilitating fuel scarcity across thecountry is thelooting of the $12 billion domesticgas fundunder President Goodluck Jonathan’s watch, as well as the Administration’s failure to pay fuel subsidy and
the costof interestson bank loans to oil marketers, thus making it impossible for them to begin another round ofimportation of refined petroleumproducts.
In a statementissued in Dubai on Tuesdayby its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said the PDP and the Jonathan Administration decidedto divert attention fromthose problems by accusing the opposition of being responsible for thescarcity – a most laughable and irresponsible statementby a sitting governmentthat is always soeager toblame everyonebut itself for
the nation’s woes.
It recalled that the self-styled Coordinating Minister of the Economy and Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had, in February, promised to pay all subsidiesowed to the marketers then in thesum ofN264 billion, along with the accrued interest.
APC said, however, that the failure tomeetthis obligation has madeit impossible for the oil marketers, who are being owed heavily, to finance another round of products importation.
”The truth is that this profligate government has run Nigeria aground, and the oil sector, whether upstream or downstream, has particularly sufferedhugely. The quantity of petroleum products that was importedhas almost been fully consumed, without fresh products
being broughtin toaugment supplies that have now fallen well below re-order level
”The implication is that in addition to worsening power supply, crumbling prices of oil at the international market, weakening Naira and unprecedentedcorruption, Nigerians – who routinely provide theirown electricity to power theirhomesand business, now have to face
another round ofgovernment-imposed hardship with the ongoing fuel scarcity,” the party said.
It said the fuel crisis would not have reached the stage it is in now had the $12 billion domesticgas project fundnot been looted under President Jonathan’s watch.
This is because, with the projectbeing executed, many vehicles, cooking stovesand generators would have been
convertedto use gas toreduce theimportation of PMS, diesel and kerosene,and gas would have been available to fire the gas turbines at power stationswhile morepower would have been delivered to the national grid
APC accused President Jonathan of sabotaging the domesticgas project startedby the late President UmaruMusaYar’Adua, with the $12 billion cash call provisions for gas development for domesticpower generation looted underhis (President Jonathan) watch.
”Late President Yar’Adua madethe first allocation of$1.5 billion for this project in 2009. The amount was not spent at the time of his deathin 2010. However, directoutlays through annual cash calls continued to be credited to the projectaccount somuch sothat by
December 2014, $12 billion had been accumulated in thesame account.
”Had this projectbeen successfully implemented as envisaged, had thefunds made available for the projectnot been looted by the rapacious cabal that is holding Nigeria by the jugular, power generationwould have improved with uninterruptedgas supply to power the turbines atpower station, while the domesticconsumption of PMS, diesel and kerosenewould have reduced, with an increasing number of vehicles, cooking stoves and power generators being convertedtouse gas instead of PMS, diesel or kerosene,” the party said.
It also slammed the Jonathan Administration for itsinability or unwillingness or bothto secure power installations fromcontrived sabotage.
”For a federal governmentthat is in control of one million people underarms (military, police, civil defencecorps, etc), and one that has spent in excessof4 trillion Naira on security, there is no justifiable reasonwhy power installations could not besecured
against sabotage,” APC said.
The party said the real saboteurs and indeed those who have pushedNigeria toanother sorry stateof fuel scarcityare those who have stolen the moneyearmarkedfor gas gathering, processing and transportation for domestic power production, and Nigerians know who
and where those people are.
It said Nigerians must be wondering whether those who accused the APC of being behind the fuel shortage have their heads properly screwed to theirbodies, because the accusation marksa new low in the sad saga of the Jonathan Administration.
”They (Nigerians) must be wondering when the APC took over the running of the NNPC, when the APC took chargeof subsidypayment and why the opposition should becomethe easy scapegoat of an ineffectual, clueless, incompetent, visionless and thieving government. Absurdity has no other meaning,” APC said