adminthe sector but was forced to partially back down by a public outcry.
“We went to the PPPRA (Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency) offices Monday as part of the commencement of our investigation into the subsidy payments, which has begun in earnest,” EFCC spokesman Wilson Uwujaren said by telephone on Tuesday.
“We are also partly at the NNPC (state oil company).”
President Jonathan has been criticised, along with his predecessors, for doing too little to tackle entrenched corruption.
Graft is most Nigerians’ number-one gripe, and foreign investors cite it as the main reason for steering clear of the continent’s second-biggest economy.
The EFCC has also been seen as ineffective over the years. It has arrested senior political figures, including former state governors, but the cases often fail to end in prosecution.
Economists, including the central bank governor, argued the subsidy was a massive avenue for corruption involving officials in the oil ministry and a cartel of refined petroleum importers. – Reuters.
But critics questioned why, if that is true, the subsidy was scrapped on January 1 without anyone in the oil ministry or elsewhere being investigated or charged with anything.
The oil minister, Deziani Allison-Madueke, set up a committee on Monday to speed up the passing of an oil bill meant to overhaul everything from production to product sales.
Many protesters said they want to see evidence the government is tackling the single biggest cost to the Nigerian treasury first – corruption – before cutting welfare.
Asked how long this latest probe would take, Uwujaren said, “you can’t put a time frame on investigations”, but he added that everyone had been cooperative so far. – Reuters.
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