Information just coming in from the House of Representatives in Abuja indicates that the report of the House committee that probed the spending of the petroleum subsidy fund has been submitted.
The committee, headed by Hon. Farouk Lawan, was expected to have submitted the report on resumption of sitting on Tuesday but did not.
In fact, Lawan was absent at Tuesday’s sitting.
This fuelled suspicion that those indicted by the probe report had influenced its non submission.
The report is said to have indicted almost all those involved in the process for the release of the subsidy funds, especially major and independent oil marketers.
The marketers, the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Management of the Fuel Subsidy Fund recommended, should be made to refund the excess funds in their possession.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency and its officials were also indicted by the report for sharp practices in the report, it was learnt.
The probe followed the protest over the removal of subsidy on petrol by the Federal Government, which grounded the nation for about one week in January 2012.
Nigerians, through organised Labour, demanded to know the actual amount spent by the government on subsidy.
During the public hearing by the committee, it was discovered that instead of the N240 billion budgeted for subsidy in 2010/2011, over N2 trillion was spent, with demands for more payment by some marketers who claimed to have either been short paid or yet to be paid at all.
The report is to be discussed on Tuesday by the House.