14 March 2014, Abuja – The federal government has paid N41.074 billion to no fewer than 27 oil marketers, whose claims for fuel subsidy have successfully scaled through the verification process.
A statement yesterday by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, listed the benefiting marketers as A-Z Petroleum Products Limited, Acorn Petroleum Plc, Aiteo Energy Resource Limited, Ascon Oil Gas Company Limited, Avidor Oil & Gas Company, Conoil Plc, Dee Jones Petroleum & Gas Ltd, Dozzy Oil and Gas Limited, and Folawiyo Energy Ltd.
Also included in the payment of claims, according to the statement signed by the minister’s Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, are Gulf Treasures Limited, Hudson Petroleum Limited, Hyde Energy (Nig) Limited, Ibafon Oil Ltd, Masters Energy Oil & Gas Ltd, Matrix Energy Limited, Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc, MRS Oil & Gas Company Ltd as well as Nepal Oil Gas Serv. Ltd.
Others are NIPCO Plc, Northwest Petroleum & Gas Ltd., Oando Plc, Obat Oil & Gas Services Limited, Rainoil Limited, Shorelink Oil and Gas Services Limited, Techno Oil Ltd., Tempogate Oil & Energy Company and Total Nigeria Plc.
According to the statement, the information was provided in continuation of the ministry’s focus on transparency and accountability
in the management of the subsidy regime.
As at September 23, 2013, the federal government said it had paid a total of N287,351,770,696.16 as verified claims to marketers.
A huge public outcry in 2011 arising from unprecedented subsidy payments prompted the government to evolve measures aimed at cleaning up the process of subsidy payments.
The protest over the unprecedented subsidy claim that amounted to over N1 trillion prompted the Ministry of Finance to set up the Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede Committee which investigated the subsidy payments—a committee, which was later elevated to a presidential committee by President Goodluck Jonathan
The ministry also hired new auditors and put in place different checks and balances, which drastically brought subsidy payments down to about N971 billion last year.
– Ndubuisi Francis, This Day