Former Governor of Bauchi State, Isa Yuguda, on Monday opened up on the subsidy scam and said the monster which involves some individuals and Corporate organisations had been a major instrument for running aground the Nigerian Economy over the last 15 years.
Yuguda who also was former minister of state for Transport and Aviation disclosed this when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, monitored by metrobusinessnews, (MBN)According to him, he was privileged to serve as the chairman of a subcommittee between 2008 and 2009 under the economic meltdown period and he chaired the committee on subsidy where everything about the scam from the initiative was discovered.
He said while all the past leaders, under the period could not be absolved from the scam, the needed political will to stop it has been lacking.
“I am sad to let Nigerians know what I saw; we came across situations where subsidy was claimed on pipelines that never existed,” Yuguda maintained.
The former minister further explained that “They (NNPC and Marketers) just claim that they have pumped X amount of either finished products or crude.
“Those that claim to pump the products and those that are in the subsidy scam, they just fill papers, invoices and they claim subsidy on it,” Yuguda explained.
When asked again if it was indeed the NNPC that was making these claims, Yuguda replied in the affirmative.
“Who else is doing it?” he rhetorically asked.
He further stated that the removal of subsidy has long been discussed and is long overdue, however, previous governments did not have the political will to implement its removal.
According to him, although his report may have taken a very long time, there have been subsequent reports after the one he chaired that individuals and Corporate Organisations, using phorensic approach, could identify the culprits.
The former minister also blamed some bank executives who he claimed contributed to the crisis in the economy and particularly banking industry as well as aiding the scam that brought about indiscriminate borrowings that have put the country in a very precarious situations, particularly, in the area of revenue and debt servicing.
However, some analysts say the revelation by President Tinubu in France that the financial industry was rotten during the tenure of Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank of Nigeria governor could be presumptuous and runs against the principle of innocence until pronounced guilty by a competent court.
