The Coalition Against Corrupt Leaders (CACOL) has censured the Nigerian National Petroleum and a subsidiary of the corporation, Pipeline and Products Marketing Company for the move to sell off M. T. Tuma, an oil vessel owned by the PPMC after allegedly wasting $60million on its maintenance.
The House of Representatives, yesterday has raised an alarm on the alleged plan to sell off TM Tuma. In a motion sponsored by a lawmaker, Hon Mudashiru Akinlabi, it was revealed that the vessel (T. M. Tuma) left the shores of Nigeria in 2007 for a routine dry docking which was to last three months but was abandoned for almost six years costing the nation about $5million. The vessel found its way back into the country in May 2012 without the maintenance job done properly and incurred about $60million demurrage and other port charges.
Speaking on behalf of Coalition, its Executive Chairman Debo Adeniran urged President Goodluck Jonathan to address the endemic corruption pervading Nigerian oil sector.
It is very unfortunate that the NNPC could hold the whole country to ransom without caution from any quarters. It is high time President Goodluck Jonathan put down his feet to address the rot that is bedevilling our oil sector. Many reports by various committees have revealed that NNPC is a cesspit of corruption in this country.
It is not far from the truth that many contracts would have been awarded with money paid out to various companies and individuals to carry out maintenance work on the said vessel without any work done. Several millions of taxpayers’ money disbursed to maintain the ship has been diverted into private coffers and no head is rolling now! The next step is for the NNPC to put up the vessel for sale to further fatten the accounts of some government officials and their cronies.
CACOL commends the House of Representatives for its move to investigate the allegations, we urge the committee saddled with the investigation to beam its searchlight on individuals and companies that participated directly or indirectly in this frittering exercise and hand the report over to the anti-graft agency for apposite prosecution,” Adeniran submitted.
