Presidency absolves Jonathan of role in fuel subsidy scam .

Guardian

20 January 2012

Presidency absolves Jonathan of role in fuel subsidy scam .

Sets up team to rework PIB

Reps want new law on petrol pricing

AT both the Executive and Legislature yesterday, the concern over the fuel subsidy scam uncovered by the House of Representatives on Wednesday and forensic report was high yesterday.

While the two arms of government promised to address the issues thrown up by last week’s strike by organised Labour, protests and rallies by civil society groups against the Federal Government’s removal of subsidy on petrol, the Presidency said “the monumental fraud” unearthed in a forensic audit report in the operation of the petroleum subsidy did not take place under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.  [And after …?]

Former Minister of Finance and now Minister of Trade and Investment,  Dr. Olusegun Aganga, had following the controversies that trailed the use of the subsidy funds, commissioned KMPG and Afe Afemike and Co to carry out a forensic audit of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) between 2007 and 2009.

A top Presidency source told journalists in Abuja that “If you look at the report critically, the auditors were specifically directed to probe the period between 2007 to 2009. This time, President Jonathan was not in office, Diezani Alison-Madueke, minister of petroleum resources was also not in office as minister and Austen Oniwon was not the group managing director of NNPC then. Those accusing the President, the minister and the NNPC boss of perpetuating the fraud are doing so to score cheap political goals.