Falana seeks investigation of petrol importation scam

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, has called for the swift investigationof the Premium Motor Spirit (petrol) scam.

Falana made this call during Channels Television’s SundayPolitics programme, saying there is no better time to probe petrol scam thannow.

“It is high time the importation scam was investigated. I amnot talking of the joke that is going on in the National Assembly. The mediamust help civil society organisations to expose the fraud,” he said.

There have been reports that a $6 billion debt the NigerianNational Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) owes petrol suppliers has worsenedpetrol scarcity in Nigeria.

Recall that the NNPCL on Sunday finally admittedthe company’s significant debt to petrol suppliers, saying it posed a threat tothe sustainability of fuel supply.

“Once the government begins to speak about affordability andsustainability in response to growing queues at filling stations, there areproblems,” Falana stated.

According to the Senior Advocate of Nigeria, there is nofull disclosure on the part of the government on subsidy on petrol, adding thatNigeria can’t spend “$2.9bn to fix the refineries” yet the dates for theresumption of production at the refineries have been constantly shifted.

The legal luminary threatened to sue those responsible forthe fixing of state-owned refineries should they announce another postponement.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria,IPMAN, had said the landing cost per litre of petrol has made it impossible forpetrol marketers to import the essential commodity as was done by the NNPCL.

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