Taraba State Governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, yesterday flew into Abuja, the nation’s capital with a view to meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan and former Defence Minister, Theophilus Danjuma, to pave the way for him to return to his office. The recuperating governor, was flown to Abuja in a private jet said to belong to the former minister, who is also believed to be in support of his return to office after recovering from the air crash that kept him out of circulation for over a year. A source close to the governor, told Saturday Vanguard that he would first be received by Danjuma, who would later take him to have a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan so as to smoothen his resumption of work that has been enmeshed in endless controversy. But the governor will have to wait in Abuja until Jonathan returns from an overseas trip at the weekend. It was not clear as at press time when the President would actually receive Suntai. Incidentally, the Acting Governor of the State, Alhaji Garba Umar, was also said to be in Abuja alongside the Speaker of the House of Assembly, apparently to also meet with senior political strategists of the President with a view to stalling Suntai’s move to resume work. Majority of the members of the Taraba House of Assembly are of the view that Suntai is not strong enough to resume work and that Umar should continue to hold the fort until further notice. But Suntai’s loyalists are not interested in seeing Umar performing the functions, which the governor should be discharging on a daily basis and have therefore asked their principal to return to his post without further delay. Apparently buoyed by his supporters, Suntai braved the odds and inspected his office in Jalingo on Thursday, sending the message to Umar that his days as the Acting Governor of the state are numbered. There are indications that Umar may be impeached by Suntai’s loyalists as soon as the governor resumes work. But Suntai may also face some tough times in getting the required number of the state lawmakers to edge out Umar, given the fact that the majority of them are in support of the acting governor.

Taraba State Governor, Mr. Danbaba Suntai, yesterday flew into Abuja, the nation’s capital with a view to meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan and former Defence Minister, Theophilus Danjuma, to pave the way for him to return to his office. The recuperating governor, was flown to Abuja in a private jet said to belong to the former minister, who is also believed to be in support of his return to office after recovering from the air crash that kept him out of circulation for over a year. A source close to the governor, told Saturday Vanguard that he would first be received by Danjuma, who would later take him to have a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan so as to smoothen his resumption of work that has been enmeshed in endless controversy. But the governor will have to wait in Abuja until Jonathan returns from an overseas trip at the weekend. It was not clear as at press time when the President would actually receive Suntai. Incidentally, the Acting Governor of the State, Alhaji Garba Umar, was also said to be in Abuja alongside the Speaker of the House of Assembly, apparently to also meet with senior political strategists of the President with a view to stalling Suntai’s move to resume work. Majority of the members of the Taraba House of Assembly are of the view that Suntai is not strong enough to resume work and that Umar should continue to hold the fort until further notice. But Suntai’s loyalists are not interested in seeing Umar performing the functions, which the governor should be discharging on a daily basis and have therefore asked their principal to return to his post without further delay. Apparently buoyed by his supporters, Suntai braved the odds and inspected his office in Jalingo on Thursday, sending the message to Umar that his days as the Acting Governor of the state are numbered. There are indications that Umar may be impeached by Suntai’s loyalists as soon as the governor resumes work. But Suntai may also face some tough times in getting the required number of the state lawmakers to edge out Umar, given the fact that the majority of them are in support of the acting governor.

Posted by Sylvester on Saturday, January 11, 2014 0

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After disputing the claims of the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi of an unremitted $48.9 billion oil revenue, saying it was $10.8 billion, the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, gave a clearer account of how it spent the $10.8 billion.
The Corporation which until now had said nothing about spending the money said it spent the sum on subsidy on PMS, known as petrol, repairs of vandalised pipeline and products/crude oil losses as well as maintenance of national strategic reserves, said it enjoys legal backing to incur such expenditure on behalf of the government.
Making the clarification at an interactive session with Energy Correspondents in Abuja, Group Executive Director, Finance and Accounts Directorate of the Corporation, Mr. Bernard Otti said that as a law-abiding corporate entity, NNPC’s processes and procedures are guided by the provisions of the law.
“Whatever expenditure we have incurred in the discharge of the above national responsibilities are backed by the law setting up the Corporation.
He said the Corporation was backed by Section 7, Sub section A and B of the NNPC Act.
Mr. Otti insisted that the $10.8 billion currently the subject of ongoing inter-agency reconciliation exercise was not missing, noting that, “the sum in question has been expenditures incurred as part of statutory responsibilities which the NNPC as a National Oil Company executes on behalf of the Federal Government and by extension the entire people of Nigeria.”
According to him, the $10.5 billion reflects expenditure incurred by the NNPC in the period under review and are rarely made up of the following, subsidy claims, $8.49 billion, pipeline Management and Repair cost, $1.22 billion, products/crude oil losses, $0.72 billion, and cost of holding Strategic Reserves, $0.37 billion.
He said these are being subject to the normal continuing inter-agency reconciliation exercise.
He added, “there is a process by which revenue accrue into government account, there is also government policy stating that subsidy is still in place. NNPC does not create policies but it execute s policies, the subsidy claim has simply arisen because after 2011 period. We saw there was no import of petroleum products when prices had gone up, NNPC was the sole importer and subsidy claims for this particular period had gone up. The subsidy claims normally is known to all relevant agencies.”
Mr. Otti who is also a member, Board of Directors of the Corporation added that, “It is also on record that for many years now, NNPC has been the main supplier of products to the nation. Most of these products are imported at international prices but sold at regulated prices.
At some point, NNPC was the sole importer of products into the country. The Corporation has successfully kept the nation wet with products, especially PMS, for the past three years as can be verified from the absence of queues at petrol stations during normal and festive seasons.
“It is significant to note that the government has not made any payments to the Corporation in the name of subsidy during the period under review.
“I should like to use this opportunity to restate our position on subsidy. The subsidy is a policy of the Federal Government. We only implement what we are directed to,” he said.
Otti stressed further that “another area of huge expenditure on behalf of the Federal Government is the maintenance of national strategic reserves for petroleum products. At every point in time round the year, NNPC maintains huge petroleum products reserves on land and in the national territorial waters” [Vanguard]