Subsidy: EFCC beamssearchlight on 140firms

THE Economic
and Financial Crimes
Commission, EFCC, has
beamed its searchlight
on companies that
benefitted from the
fuel subsidy regime,
particularly the
portfolio investors
among the 140
corporate bodies that
were invited by the
Farouk Lawan-led
House of
Representatives ad-hoc
committee on fuel
subsidy.
Investigations
conducted by Vanguard
revealed that most of
the companies invited
could not provide
documented evidence
of how they got
allocation to import
fuel but handsomely
benefitted from the
fuel subsidy fund, FSF.
An indication that the
anti-graft agency
would play an active
role in the alleged fuel
subsidy scam was
when the Chairman of
the Ad-hoc Committee
noted last Wednesday
that companies that
could not show
conclusive evidence of
how the fund was
disbursed would be
handed over to
security agencies.
Lawan made this
disclosure when a
beneficiary refused to
talk at the panel and
came to the public
hearing without a
single document to
back up the N2.3
billion he got to import
fuel into the country.
The company's Chief
Executive Officer,
Saminu Rabiu, had
confessed through his
spokesman,
Mohammed Aminu,
that his company had
only six staff but got as
much as N2.3 billion to
import fuel but did not
come with one single
document to back up
his claim.
Coys not registered
Some companies
invited that got the
fuel subsidy windfall
were not even
registered before they
got the nod of the
agency in charge that
they should import fuel
into the country.
Unknown to the
invited companies, EFCC
operatives were
always at the public
hearing monitoring the
proceedings and taking
notes of all the
transactions of the ad-
hoc committee for the
three weeks it sat.
From all indications,
the anti-graft agency
seems to zero in more
on the companies that
refused to send in
proxies or appear
before the panel as is
widely believe that
such outfits have a lot
to hide.
Two weeks ago, the
Committee Chairman
had also threatened to
arrest Chief Executives
that refused to show
up at the panel.
Despite this threat,
proxies still stood in for
CEOs who, in most
cases, send their
lawyers as
representatives.
But two companies
deeply involved in the
fuel subsidy alleged
scam were visibly
missing last Thursday
when the committee
drew the blinds on
public hearing, the two
companies were
Sahara Oil and
Transfigural Oil.
Feelers from the
investigative panel
indicated that the
report being prepared
might not necessarily
favour the companies
who could not give a
very good account of
how they managed the
PSF as they may end
up in the underground
cell of the anti-graft
agency.
The 140 companies
which most likely the
EFCC must have placed
on a watch list to
forstal sudden
disappearance from
Nigeria will have to
vomit all they refused
to deliver to the panel
to the anti-graft body.
When contacted on
phone, the Head, Media
and Publicity of EFCC,
Mr. Wilson Uwaren
confirmed that the
investigations into the
companies involved in
the FSF "is still on-
going by the agency
and that of the House
too separately."