Ribadu report: Laboururges FG to probe missing $183m

The organised Labour on Thursday called on
the Federal Government to institute an urgent
probe into the revelations by the Nuhu Ribadu
Committee that $183m signature bonuses from
seven discretionary oil licences awarded by
petroleum ministers between 2008 and 2011
was missing.
The two labour centres in the country, the
Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union
Congress, on Thursday demanded that the FG
must ensure that those behind the latest
incident of corruption and theft of public funds
be fished out for prosecution without delay.
The NLC and the TUC called on the Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission, the
Independent Corrupt Practices and other
Related Offences Commission and related
security agencies to wade into the matter to
ensure the money was recovered from those
involved in the missing funds saga.
The president of the TUC, Mr. Peter Esele, said
that while the ministers of petroleum in Nigeria
remained the most powerful in the world,
regulatory institutions were rather too weak in
the country.
He said that the situation had made the
ministers of petroleum to do whatever they
wanted, including allocation of oil blocs and
others.
He urged the National Assembly to whittle
down the powers given to the Minister of
Petroleum in the Petroleum Industry Bill now
awaiting legislative action.
Esele urged the EFCC and related agencies to
pick up the issue and ensure that the funds
involved were recovered.
He said, “The Ribadu committee is a fall out of
the anti-fuel price increase demonstrations in
January; the committee is one of the benefits.
“What this has shown is that our regulatory
authorities are too weak. The Minister of
Petroleum is the most powerful minister in the
whole world.”