The
Presidency has challenged the Chairman of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task
Force, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, to mention the names of those who allegedly
attempted to compromise him.
It also said that his recent
altercation with some members of his committee was uncalled for.
Senior Special Adviser to the
President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, who gave the charge in Abuja
explained that the controversy surrounding the committee’s report was
unnecessary.
He said that it was “politically
orchestrated” and did not represent the purpose for which President Goodluck
Jonathan set up the committee.
Okupe stressed that it was
unfortunate for Ribadu to make such “sweeping statements” without
substantiating it.
He noted that his choice as
chairman of the committee was based on President Jonathan’s belief that he
(Ribadu) “is somebody who cannot easily be compromised in spite of his
belonging to the opposition political party.”
Emphasising the determination of
the President in correcting the ills in the oil industry, Okupe stressed that
the Ribadu’s committee was not a probe panel but merely a body set up to find
how to fix the problems in the petroleum sector and move the country forward.
He noted that the leaking of
“incorrect version” of the report of the committee to a foreign media was a
most unpatriotic act by the person who did so.
The presidential aide added that
there were clear discrepancies between what was leaked to Reuters and what was
submitted to the President.
He said that public reactions to
the report followed a pattern by some unknown persons, whom he accused of
deliberately misinforming the public “to overheat the polity and cause
disaffection and opprobrium against the President for doing what is right.”
“We are aware that Ribadu, to a
certain extent, advertently or inadvertently but definitely unfortunately, has
encouraged this negativism.
“For instance, on his facebook
page a while ago, Mallam Ribadu remarked that he resisted overtures to make him
compromise the report and rather than compromising the report, he stayed on the
side of the Nigerian people.
“His claim of an overture to him
to compromise the report is perfidious and false. We respectfully enjoin Mallam
Nuhu Ribadu to be patriotic enough to name the proponents of this compromise.
“If Ribadu claims that by serving
on the committee, he is on the side of the Nigerian people, on whose side is
President Jonathan whose idea it was in the first place to set up the task
force and approved the appointment of Mallam Ribadu as chairman of the
committee?
“A cursory look at the report
mischievously leaked to Reuters and other international news media and the one
submitted on November 2, to President Jonathan and signed by Mallam Ribadu as
chairman and Olasupo Shasore as secretary, would prove this discrepancy”.
Okupe noted that comparing the
first paragraph of the report with the first item on the terms of reference
given to the committee, it would show clearly that there is a contradiction as
“the statement (that the committee has concluded its assignment in accordance
with the terms of reference) is untrue as paragraph one of the terms of
reference of the committee mandated it (which is to work with consultants and
experts to determine and verify all petroleum upstream and downstream revenues
due and payable to the federal government).
“Unfortunately and most
regrettably, this paramount duty of the PRSTF committee could not be
accomplished as stated in paragraph four of the covering letter signed by the
chairman, Ribadu and secretary of the committee, Shasore”.
Okupe insisted that having stated
clearly in paragraph four of the covering letter that the committee was unable
to verify the figures in the report and was unable to conduct necessary
verifications and reconciliations, “the committee failed to carry out a very
critical part of its assignment”.