Fakoyejo Olalekan
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has been summoned by the House of Representatives, as the lawmakers begin to probe the subsidy regime.
Ahmed was directed to appear before the Ad Hoc Committee investigating the fuel subsidy regime, and provide financial details as to the beneficiaries of the subsidy payments made between 2013 to date.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe lawmakers also requested for all correspondences between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding subsidy payments from January 2013 to date.
Also expected to be submitted includes evidence of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited making forex payments into the Consolidated Revenue Account.
Subsidy payments were made from the Consolidated Revenue Account from January 2013 to date, to various companies. For the period of 2023, fuel subsidy is expected to gulp about N6.7 trillion from the account.
On Tuesday, while disclosing the summon of Ahmed, the Chairman of the committee, Ibrahim Aliyu, said, “This committee requested from you to: know the total amount released from the Consolidated Revenue Account as subsidy payments from January 2013 to date;
“the total amount released from other accounts other than the Consolidated Revenue Account to subsidy payments from January 2013 to date; breakdown of beneficiaries; companies that enjoyed releases from the Consolidated Revenue Account and other revenue accounts as subsidy payments;
“Identify each beneficiary with the amount sent to them, month by month, covering the period from January 2013 to date; all correspondences between the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding subsidy payments from January 2013 to date;
“evidence of lodgment of forex into Consolidated Revenue Account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation now (Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited) as revenue from January 2013 to date.”
