President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday confirmed that he
had started receiving some documents which indicted some former ministers and
other top government officials of massive fraud, including oil theft.
Buhari said the documents revealed that some top government
officials moved as much as one million barrels of crude oil per day for their
personal purposes.
The President stated these while speaking at an interactive
session with Nigerians in the Diaspora at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington
DC, United States, in continuation of his four-day official visit to the
country.
He alleged that such officials also opened as many as five
bank accounts abroad for the purpose of laundering money.
While describing the amount of money involved in the shady
deals as mind-boggling, the President promised that his administration would
use the indicting documents and others still being compiled to clamp down on
the culprits and prosecute them.
He also said while many Nigerians nicknamed him ‘Baba Go
Slow’ because of the delay in forming his cabinet, he added that he would
prefer to be “slow and steady” in taking decisions.
He said by the time the process of compiling and identifying
the shady deals and those behind them were completed, his administration would
approach countries where the loots were kept to assist in repatriating them.
The President added, “We are now looking for evidences of
shipping some of our crude, their destinations and where and which accounts
they were paid and in which country.
“When we get as much as we can get as soon as possible, we
will approach those countries to freeze those accounts and go to court,
prosecute those people and let the accounts be taken to Nigeria.
“The amount of money is mind-boggling but we have started
getting documents. We have started getting documents where some of the senior
people in government, former ministers, some of them operated as much as five
accounts and were moving about one million barrels per day on their own. We
have started getting those documents.
“I assure you that whichever documents we are able to get
and subsequently trace the sale of the crude or transfer of money from
ministries, departments, Central Bank, we will ask for the cooperation of those
countries to return those monies to the Federation Accounts.
And we will use those documents to arrest those people and
prosecute them. This, I promise Nigerians.”
Buhari faulted the mode of operation of the Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation, saying his administration would check the excesses of
the corporation.
The President restated his position on the removal of
subsidy, arguing that would bring more hardship to Nigerians.
He however said he would study the debate and take a
decision based on his experience.
Buhari stated, “Who is subsidising who? But, people are
gleefully talking, ‘remove subsidy’. They want petrol to cost N500 per litre.
“If you are working and subsidy is removed, you can’t
control transport, you can’t control market women: the cost of food, the cost
of transport.
“If you are earning N20,000 per day and you are living in
Lagos or Ibadan, the cost of transport to work and back, the cost of food. You
cannot control the market women because they have to pay what transporters
charge them.
“If there is a need for removing subsidy, I will study it.
With my experience, I will see what I can do. But I am thinking about more than
half of Nigerians, who, virtually cannot afford to live.
“Where will they get the money to go to work? How can they
feed their families? How can they pay rent? If Nigeria were not an oil
producing country – all well and good.
Our refineries are not working. We have a lot of work to
do.”
Buhari decried those he said had started calling him ‘Baba
Go Slow’ because he had yet to form his cabinet, weeks after his inauguration.
He cited the example of previous government under the
Peoples Democratic Party which spent more than two months to settle down during
its 16 years of ruling the country.
He said he would prefer to go slowly and steadily in
administering the country.
The President, however, said though his administration might
be accused of being slow, it would be steady in fulfilling its campaign promises
to Nigerians.
Buhari said, “Within the past two weeks, I am being asked
when I am going to form my cabinet. And in some quarters, they are now calling
me ‘Baba Go Slow’.
“I am going to go slow and steady. Nigerians should be
patient to allow this administration put some sense into governance and deal
with corruption.”
He also pledged to study the Diaspora Bill with a view to
signing it into law as being demanded by Nigerians in the Diaspora.
The President advised those Nigerians in the Diaspora,
looking for government jobs back home to suspend their ambition as the nation’s
economy was in a bad shape and it would take his administration about 18 months
or more to resuscitate it.
He, however, promised that some of them would be engaged by
the Federal Government as consultants to enable them to contribute their quota
to national development.
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