President Muhammadu Buhari on
Wednesday confirmed that he had started receiving some documents which indicted
some former ministers and other top government officials of massive fraud,
including oil theft.
Buhari said the documents revealed
that some top government officials moved as much as one million barrels of
crude oil per day for their personal purposes.
The President stated these while
speaking at an interactive session with Nigerians in the Diaspora at the
Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC, United States, in continuation of his
four-day official visit to the country.
He alleged that such officials also
opened as many as five bank accounts abroad for the purpose of laundering
money.
While describing the amount of money
involved in the shady deals as mind-boggling, the President promised that his
administration would use the indicting documents and others still being
compiled to clamp down on the culprits and prosecute them.
He also said while many Nigerians
nicknamed him ‘Baba Go Slow’ because of the delay in forming his cabinet, he
added that he would prefer to be “slow and steady” in taking decisions.
He said by the time the process of
compiling and identifying the shady deals and those behind them were completed,
his administration would approach countries where the loots were kept to assist
in repatriating them.
The President added, “We are now
looking for evidences of shipping some of our crude, their destinations and
where and which accounts they were paid and in which country.
“When we get as much as we can get
as soon as possible, we will approach those countries to freeze those accounts
and go to court, prosecute those people and let the accounts be taken to
Nigeria.
“The amount of money is
mind-boggling but we have started getting documents. We have started getting
documents where some of the senior people in government, former ministers, some
of them operated as much as five accounts and were moving about one million
barrels per day on their own. We have started getting those documents.
“I assure you that whichever
documents we are able to get and subsequently trace the sale of the crude or
transfer of money from ministries, departments, Central Bank, we will ask for
the cooperation of those countries to return those monies to the Federation
Accounts.
“And we will use those documents to
arrest those people and prosecute them. This, I promise Nigerians.”
Buhari faulted the mode of operation
of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, saying his administration would
check the excesses of the corporation.
The President restated his position
on the removal of subsidy, arguing that would bring more hardship to Nigerians.
He however said he would study the
debate and take a decision based on his experience.
Buhari stated, “Who is subsidising
who? But, people are gleefully talking, ‘remove subsidy’. They want petrol to
cost N500 per litre.
“If you are working and subsidy is
removed, you can’t control transport, you can’t control market women: the cost
of food, the cost of transport.
“If you are earning N20,000 per day
and you are living in Lagos or Ibadan, the cost of transport to work and back,
the cost of food. You cannot control the market women because they have to pay
what transporters charge them.
“If there is a need for removing
subsidy, I will study it. With my experience, I will see what I can do. But I
am thinking about more than half of Nigerians, who, virtually cannot afford to
live.
“Where will they get the money to go
to work? How can they feed their families? How can they pay rent? If Nigeria
were not an oil producing country – all well and good.
“Our refineries are not working. We
have a lot of work to do.”
Buhari decried those he said had
started calling him ‘Baba Go Slow’ because he had yet to form his cabinet,
weeks after his inauguration.
He cited the example of previous
government under the Peoples Democratic Party which spent more than
two months
to settle down during its 16 years of ruling the country.
He said he would prefer to go slowly
and steadily in administering the country.
The President, however, said though
his administration might be accused of being slow, it would be steady in
fulfilling its campaign promises to Nigerians.
Buhari said, “Within the past two
weeks, I am being asked when I am going to form my cabinet. And in some
quarters, they are now calling me ‘Baba Go Slow’.
“I am going to go slow and steady.
Nigerians should be patient to allow this administration put some sense into
governance and deal with corruption.”
He also pledged to study the
Diaspora Bill with a view to signing it into law as being demanded by Nigerians
in the Diaspora.
The President advised those
Nigerians in the Diaspora, looking for government jobs back home to suspend
their ambition as the nation’s economy was in a bad shape and it would take his
administration about 18 months or more to resuscitate it.
He, however, promised that some of
them would be engaged by the Federal Government as consultants to enable them
to contribute their quota to national development.
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