The Presidency on Wednesday denied knowledge of any rift
between the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, and the Minister of
Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, over unpaid petroleum subsidy
claims.
There were reports that there was a
disagreement between the two ministers over unpaid subsidy totalling N1.13trn
which Okonjo-Iweala refused to pay.
A delegation of the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation led by Alison-Madueke was said to have told President
Goodluck that fuel might disappear from filling stations across the country if
government failed to pay the debt.
But responding to a question from
State House correspondents on Wednesday, presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati,
denied knowledge of such disagreement.
He said, “I am not aware of any
disagreement between the two ministers. I read those stories too but those
stories are usually speculative. They are not based on any substance and I
think we should refrain from this attempt to set one individual up against the
other.”