The Socio-Economic Rights And Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to promptly probe allegations of corruption in oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments over the years.
Development Diaries reports that allegations of U.S.$2.1 billion and N3.1 trillion public funds of oil revenues budgeted as fuel subsidy payments between 2016 and 2029 are missing and unaccounted for as documented by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
SERAP urged President Tinubu to name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the alleged widespread and systemic corruption in the use of oil revenues and management of public funds budgeted as fuel subsidy.
They also urged him to ensure their effective prosecution as well as full recovery of any proceeds of crime.
‘There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. There will be no economic growth or sustainability without accountability for these human rights crimes’, the organisation said in a statement.
‘President Tinubu’s government should urgently act to follow due process of law in any policy to remove fuel subsidy, ensure that suspected perpetrators of these crimes against Nigerians are brought to justice and full recovery of any missing public funds’.
It noted that arbitrarily removing fuel subsidy without addressing outstanding accountability issues in the alleged mismanagement of oil revenues and fuel subsidy payments would amount to impoverishing the poor.
Nigerians are currently experiencing another phase of hardship as commercial drivers across many cities in Nigeria, including Abuja, have increased their fares following the petroleum subsidy removal.
President Tinubu had in his inaugural speech affirmed that his administration would not continue to pay subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), adding that there was no provision for it in the 2023 Appropriation Act from June.
He had also said that given the high opportunity cost, the federal government was suffering to fund subsidies.
