Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to instruct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to immediately reverse the recent increase in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets.
SERAP has also called on the President to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), and appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate the allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the NNPCL.
The organisation listed the allegations to include the spending of the reported $300 million ‘bailout funds’ obtained from the Federal Government in August 2024 and the $6 billion debt it owes suppliers despite allegedly failing to remit oil revenues to the treasury.
SERAP, which made the demands, in an open letter dated September 7, 2024, signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, threatened to drag the federal government to court if its requests are not met in 48 hours.
The civil society organisation insisted that suspected perpetrators of alleged corruption and mismanagement in the NNPCL should face prosecution as appropriate if there is sufficient admissible evidences and any proceeds of corruption should be fully recovered.
It further maintained that the increase in petrol price constitutes a fundamental breach of constitutional guarantees and the country’s international human rights obligations.
SERAP said that rather than pursuing public policies to address the growing poverty and inequality in the country and holding NNPCL to account for the alleged corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector, the government seems to be punishing people experiencing poverty.
The organisation stated that the increase in petrol price has rendered impoverished citizens incapable of satisfying their minimum survival needs.
It emphasised that the increase is not inevitable, but rather stems from the persistent failure of successive governments to address allegations of corruption and mismanagement in the oil sector and the impunity of suspected perpetrators.
would be entirely consistent with the Nigerian Constitution and the country’s international anti-corruption obligations.
“Section 13 of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] imposes clear responsibility on your government to conform to, observe and apply the provisions of Chapter 2 of the constitution. Section 15(5) imposes the responsibility on your government to ‘abolish all corrupt practices’, including in the NNPCL.
“Under Section 16(1) of the Constitution, your government has a responsibility to ‘secure the maximum welfare, freedom and happiness of every citizen based on social justice and equality of status and opportunity.
“Section 16(2) further provides that ‘the material resources of the nation are harnessed and distributed as best as possible to serve the common good.
SERAP said it has it in good authority that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited recently increased the price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets.
“The product price increased to N855 per litre, from about N600, and in some instances above N900 per litre. The unlawful increase in petrol price followed a scarcity caused by the reported refusal by suppliers to import petroleum products for the NNPCL over a $6 billion debt.
“The NNPCL reportedly failed to remit USD$2.04 billion and N164 billion of oil revenues into the public treasury, as documented in the recently published 2020 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation,” SERAP said.
Credit: Leadership