Ribadu report: There won’t be cover up – Presidency

The Presidency has said there will not be room for cover up as it concerns the report of the Mallam Nuhu Ribadu committee that probed the operations of the oil industry between 2001 and 2011.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said the Presidency had nothing to hide and that accounted for why it set up the Ribadu committee in the first instance.
Okupe, in a statement on Monday, said: “The President is committed to the fight against corruption and has assured that there will not be any cover up in the findings of the Ribadu Report when the report is finally submitted.
“It is with respect to this that the President has directed that the report be submitted to him on Friday November 2nd, 2012.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the president has neither seen nor received any copy of the Ribadu Committee Report. Essentially, what appears to have been irregularly released prematurely to the Media is a draft copy which still requires full accent of all members of the Committee and clarifications and due process from the originating Ministry before the official handing over to the Presidency.
“President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan should be commended for his personal resolve to fight institutionalized corruption in Nigeria. President Jonathan ordered the probe of the Oil Industry for the period of ten years (2002 – 2011) which also covers the tenure of his administration. No president in our history has gone this far and this explains why the rots in our system has persisted for so long.
“President Jonathan approved the appointment of a well – known Corruption Crusader, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu,who ran against him at the Presidential Poll on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria. It is also noteworthy that the Secretary of the Committee, Mr. Supo Sasore was a former Attorney General of Lagos State under an ACN Government.
“President Jonathan’s unwavering and commendable determination to fight corruption is clearly demonstrated by his approval of the appointment of credible Nigerians, anti Corruption Crusaders and members of the opposition party in the committee.
“The efforts of President Jonathan has also helped in exposing the fraud in the Petroleum Subsidy regime dug up by Aig Imokhuede’s Committee. The indicted persons are currently being tried in various courts.
“For the purpose of clarity, President Jonathan’s resolve to fight against corruption and dig out all the rots in the system should not be misconstrued or politicized by the opposition as if it is his administration that is guilty of corruption, rather, he should be commended for taken the bold step that will ultimately sanitize the policy and the system.”
Meanwhile, two other committees set up by the Federal Government earlier this year on different aspects of the country’s petroleum industry are to present their reports to President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, a statement by the Presidency has said.
They are the committee established to design a new corporate governance code for ensuring full transparency, good governance and global best practices in the NNPC and other oil industry parastatals, which had Mr. Dotun Sulaiman as its chairman; and the Committee headed by Dr. Kalu Idika Kalu, which was charged with the duty of conducting a high-level assessment of the nation’s refineries and recommending ways of improving their efficiency and commercial viability.
President Jonathan will receive the two reports at the Presidential Villa immediately after the presentation of the report of the Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force.