The Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) have blamed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the mismanagement of the proceeds accrued from oil.
Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, head of public affairs of the forum, in a statement on Wednesday, said this was part of the resolution of the two organisations’ meeting in Abuja on Wednesday at the NGF secretariat.
“The meeting which was held at the NGF secretariat in Maitama Abuja, brokered a partnership between the NGF and the NLC, as both parties agreed that the lacuna in the subsidy removal agenda was hidden in the untruths bandied by the administrators of the subsidy, particularly the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which both groups identify to be at the forefront of the mismanagement of the proceeds accrued therein,” a statement from the NGF reads.
The statement added that Kayode Fayemi, chairman of the NGF, argued that the nation’s economy is at the precipice… and that it has become necessary for the two groups to carefully verify NNPC’s estimates.
“Fayemi told the labour leadership that subsidy removal has remained an ongoing conversation not just among governors but the country at large and emphasised that governors cannot but be part of the solution providers in this onerous task that is confronting the nation,” the statement added.
“There are raging questions of accountability associated with subsidy removal in the country and observed that the NGF and the NLC can jointly work together to proffer solutions that heal the economy and provide succour to the Nigerian people.
“We need a partnership with the NLC to confront the challenges of what the NNPC is about… because there is a lot of fraud in the consumption and distribution figures that the country is getting and we can only move forward if the NLC engages all those who are knowledgeable in the field like PENGASSAN to conduct a thorough research into the sector before any further action is taken on subsidy.”
