Slop Oil Sale: Nigerians Ask Buhari To Tackle Corruption In NNPC

President Muhammadu Buhari has been urged to swiftly investigate and bring to book perpetrators of procurement fraud in slop oil sales at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

A recent investigative report by Premium Times had exposed how slop oil which is traditionally reserved for local industries is controversially offered to preferred bidders at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) with procurement laws not adhered to.

Speaking during an anti-corruption radio program, PUBLIC CONSCIENCE on RADIO, produced by the Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development, PRIMORG, Wednesday in Abuja, Dr. Breakforth Abraham Onwubuya urged President Buhari who doubles as Minister of Petroleum to cleanse NNPC of corruption as his second term in office heads to an end.

Onwubuya described the impact of the procurement fraud at the state-owned oil company as a massive drawback to economic development especially with Nigeria’s dependence on oil revenues.

He called on President Buhari to rise to the occasion, investigate the report of procurement fraud involving slop oil sales, and use the sledgehammer on corrupt officials in NNPC.

“Now is the time for President Buhari to go hard on corruption in the NNPC. I believe that Mr President is not joking with it, I strongly believe that something will happen in a few days to come.

“NNPC is a mafia cartel because some people have been there for decades and are used to the corruption, the procurement frauds, stealing of crude oil, diversion, and all of that; So, the presidency has to beam the searchlight now on NNPC, and use the sledgehammer. “All the bad eggs should be shoved away from NNPC.

“I feel the government should set up a panel to investigate and to audit the NNPC and all the indicted officers in NNPC have to be done away with,” Onwubuya stressed.

Earlier, Premium Times Correspondent, Emmanuel Mayah, who conducted the investigation said NNPC authorities at the Port Harcourt Refining Company (PHRC) flouted procurement rules during the slop oil sale.

Revealing the procurement violations in the slop oil sale, Mayah had this to say: “The pre-qualification conditions and technical requirements were not met by the bidders, the first two bid-winning companies were found to be owned by the same directors and one of the companies is not registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission, CAC.”

He lamented that the procurement fraud at PHRC was affecting the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), “local manufacturers in Nigeria – particularly those in labour-intensive industries like textiles, cement, rubber processing, food and beverages are seriously affected; fractional distillation industries that use boilers are also affected,” Mayah stated.

He further disclosed that the presidency had summoned NNPC’s Group Managing Director, Mele Kyari and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva over the sale of slop oil sleaze last week.

Some Nigerians who called into the programme urged President Buhari to use his position as the Commander in Chief and substantive Minister of Petroleum Resources to tackle the procurement scam at hand, as well as the age-long corruption in the NNPC.

Public Conscience is a syndicated weekly anti-corruption radio program used by PRIMORG to draw government and citizens’ attention to corruption and integrity issues in Nigeria.

The program is supported by the MacArthur Foundation