APC blames FG for Fuel Scarcity; Accuses FG of Looting $12 Billion Domestic Gas Fund
The All Progressives Congress has accused the Federal Government of looting a $12 billion domestic gas fund, saying this is the reason for the fuel scarcity raging throughout the country.
The APC blamed the scarcity on the FG’s failure to pay fuel subsidy, recalling that the Minister of the Economy and Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had, in February, promised to pay all subsidies owed to the marketers then in the sum of N264billion, along with the accrued interest.
According to the APC, the marketers are, therefore, finding it impossible to begin another round of importation of refined petroleum products.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, also claimed that the PDP and the FG were trying to deceive Nigerians by accusing the opposition of being responsible for the scarcity.
He said: “The truth is that this profligate government has run Nigeria aground, and the oil sector, whether upstream or downstream, has particularly suffered hugely. The quantity of petroleum products that was imported has almost been fully consumed, without fresh products being brought in to augment supplies that have now fallen well below re-order level.
”The implication is that in addition to worsening power supply, crumbling prices of oil at the international market, weakening Naira and unprecedented corruption, Nigerians – who routinely provide their own electricity to power their homes and business, now have to face another round of government-imposed hardship with the ongoing fuel scarcity.
“The fuel crisis would not have reached the stage it is in now, had the $12 billion domestic gas project fund not been looted under President Jonathan’s watch.
“This is because, with the project being executed, many vehicles, cooking stoves and generators would have been converted to use gas to reduce the importation of PMS, diesel and kerosene, and gas would have been available to fire the gas turbines at power stations while more power would have been delivered to the national grid.
”Late President Yar’Adua made the first allocation of $1.5 billion for this project in 2009. The amount was not spent at the time of his death in 2010. However, direct outlays through annual cash calls continued to be credited to the project account so much so that by December 2014, $12 billion had been accumulated in the same account.
”Had this project been successfully implemented as envisaged, had the funds made available for the project not been looted by the rapacious cabal that is holding Nigeria by the jugular, power generation would have improved with uninterrupted gas supply to power the turbines at power station, while the domestic consumption of PMS, diesel and kerosene would have reduced, with an increasing number of vehicles, cooking stoves and power generators being converted to use gas instead of PMS, diesel or kerosene.”
It also slammed the Jonathan Administration for its inability or unwillingness or both to secure power installations from contrived sabotage.
”For a federal government that is in control of one million people under arms (military, police, civil defence corps, etc), and one that has spent in excess of 4 trillion Naira on security, there is no justifiable reason why power installations could not be secured against sabotage,’’ the APC said.
The party also said it was appalling that the PDP was accusing the opposition and that such thoughts mark a new low in the sad saga of the Jonathan Administration.
”Nigerians must be wondering when the APC took over the running of the NNPC, when the APC took charge of subsidy payment and why the opposition should become the easy scapegoat of an ineffectual, clueless, incompetent, visionless and thieving government. Absurdity has no other meaning,’’ the APC said.
