Fakoyejo Olalekan
The Former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, has accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited of enabling a fuel subsidy scam before its removal.
Yuguda said the NNPC collaborated with the oil marketers in running a fuel subsidy scam by approving payments for products that cannot be tracked. He disclosed this on Monday, during an interview with Channels TV.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelYuguda said he chaired a subcommittee between 2008 and 2009 that discovered the scam activities in Nigeria. This enabled him to have knowledge about the fuel subsidy scam.
The Former Governor, who was also a former minister of state for transportation, said the NNPC and the oil marketers claimed subsidies on pipelines that never existed before it was removed.
“I am sad to let Nigerians know what I saw; we came across situations where subsidy was claimed on pipelines that never existed,” Yuguda said, adding, “They (NNPC and Marketers) just claim that they have pumped X amount of either finished products or crude.
“Those that claim to pump the products and those that are in the subsidy scam, they just fill papers, invoices and they claim subsidy on it,” Yuguda explained during the interview.
Meanwhile, Prime Business Africa previously reported that Yuguda said he has a friend that once told him and a former president that he is tired of making money from fuel subsidies.
He said the friend advised the president, who Yuguda didn’t name, to remove subsidy on fuel because so much has been made from it. The conversation, according to Yuguda, occurred during an economic think tank.
“I remember a friend of mine in the oil industry, who during a meeting of an economic think tank. He called the then president aside and said, ‘Mr President please stop this subsidy, we are tired of making money’,” Yuguda said.
