Is $20 billion oil revenue missing or not? When will Mr President come out with a probe report on these allegations? Not that anything different will be achieved with the forensic report and this is where we missed it, what we should have asked for is a Process Report. transition-support/Process-Auditing_Technique.htm Until we demand that our fence scaling representatives at the National House of Assembly pass the PIB bill,an omnibus legislation that seeks to regulate all the activities in the oil and gas industry in Nigeria,which if passed into law will repeal existing laws in the industry and absorbs others;instead of passing bills that are none of their concerns and have no direct impact on the citizenry,we will keep groping in the dark while the thieves rob us blind. The PIB will improve transparency and competitiveness, address licences and existing agreement, improve existing fiscal regime to boost government revenues and restructure the NNPC. How do we get to do this when majority of the lawmakers know next to nothing about the existing laws of the land? When we have a judiciary that cannot even agree on the interpretation of the law. How many even passed their bar exams? We have an incompetent judiciary. Let me not digress. The NNPC will remain the ATM for corruption,sorry,mere stealing until this bill that got its first reading in December 2008 on the floor of the NASS becomes law. States will continue to remain in pitiable financial conditions as our reliance on oil is absolute. If Mr President is sincere about his Transformation Agenda, which is yet reflect in the lives of ordinary Nigerians he will demand accountability from the Petroleum Minister. For those who say the President is clueless and lacks leadership skills, I think they are making attempt to downplay a grave issue and doing ordinary Nigerians a great injustice. You cannot in all honesty be canvassing for another four years of upscale stealing. I repeat,nothing will come out of Pricewater House Coopers (PwC) forensic audit report. You cannot claim to fight corruption and while you probe the financial inaccountability of a ministry, you keep the minister cozy in her ministerial job. Or why was he comfortable with Stella Oduah until we turned the heat on him? Our president has shown it over and over again that he loves the company of people with questionable characters. Who is canvassing for another four years of that? Before you disparage the whole claims of missing money,it will be instructive to ask the very important question on why three government agencies that are by law stipulated to meet monthly have not meet at all to reconcile accounts in years. The Federal Ministry of Finance,Central Bank of Nigeria,Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation have not been transparent and open with one another. Sanusi Lamido Sanusi,former CBN governor could only make educated guess on past audit reports. How can we know the actual missing amount if we have no single clue on what is being extracted daily? How much is missing? If it is $5,we need to know. Our president shouldnt wave it aside with an America will know response. America didnt know about our billions stashed in a private jet and arrested by South Africa. America did not know. Where is our money? NNPC,from records have not been transparent as to what exactly is being extracted daily. Yet, we have a democratic government that cant claim ignorance about what is going on in this regard. Is the Petroleum Minister serving the interest of our President? Can we wave all these aside and tell ourselves to brace up for another four years before we get it right in 2019? Isnt that a defeatist attitude? Give Mr Jonathan another four years and since he has nothing to loose what we will witness is an absolute removal of fuel subsidy. FACT- Who are we subsidising? If we hold on to the argument that subsidy benefits the oil thieves (true) and thus we should clamour for an absolute removal, then we can also start questioning the accountability on money saved from the partial subsidy removal since 2012. Needless to remind us that PMS started selling at N97 even when subsidy was already fully paid for to take care of the January 2012 supply. Water under bridge? What happened to the SURE -P fund? If we argue that subsidy isnt benefitting those it suppose to benefit, what has the savings from partial subsidy impacted in their lives? When you run generator to supply power to your homes,places of work, company, when you dug boreholes to cater for your water use, when your children attend private schools to acquire basic education simply because the schools are in sorry states coupled with incessant strike actions, when you pay private security firms , employ the services of local hunters to guard your lives and properties,YOU ARE ALREADY SUBSIDISING AN INEFFICIENT GOVERNMENT. Where are the palliative measures? Has the savings from the partial subsidy removal redirected into subsidised health for low income earners? Or has there been a channelling of same into free,accessible education at basic levels? This GEJ led government that has a penchant for making unfulfilled promises, has it fulfilled the promise of reducing the cost of running government? Another four years of this? The governors that supported subsidy removal simply out of their desires to share in the oil windfall back in 2012,how viable are their respective states today without a monthly federal allocation? Do you need to be informed that if the governor in your domicile cant pay salaries he runs a parasitic government? Such a state is poor. So,who wants to still vote same four years deal of this? What are the options? Sometime this year,I made it clear on my facebook page that if APC is serious about occupying Aso Villa come 2015,APC shouldnt field Mallam Buhari as her presidential candidate. Can we still entertain hope that APC will present us with a combo of their few young and tested governors? Nigerians want change. Most Nigerians across the regions want change,yet they still believe theyll rather vote for the devil they know rather than the angel they dont know The handwriting is too vivid on the wall. GMB cant beat GEJ at the polls. The North East,a stronghold of APC is already at a disadvantage with the people already internally displaced. Already, Lagos has been dealt a blow by INEC disenfranchisement of 1.4 million voters on the strength of some disputable excuses. We need change. Any attempt to field Buhari as the change is a failed mission. This is not to say I have anything against Buhari,I am being realistic about change. It is not enough to shout APC change,can this change turn to reality? Do we need GEJ back in the creeks of Otuoke come 2015? Absolutely YES. Will Aso Villa be vacant come 2015? No way! Power abhors a vacuum. Are Nigerians properly enlightened and will vote with minimum sentiments as relate to religion and/tribe? Freaking NO! Will a GMB presidential ticket carry us out of this quagmire? It is not possible. Pitch GEJ against GMB come February 2015 and watch GEJ carry the day. February 2015 is barely three months away,we can keep deceiving ourselves on sending the fisherman back to Otuoke. A loss to APC at the polls will sound the death of the party and will in all likelihood turn Nigeria to a one party state IF we still remain an indivisible entity till 2019. I want change. I seek a realistic change. Agbaosi Sevezun Gloria writes from Badagry,(c) copyright,2014.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 09:14:07 +0000