Inside Story Of Ribadu Panel Report

The seed of the open confrontation between the chairman of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the deputy chairman of the task force, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, was sown when Ribadu told other members during its inaugural meeting that the he would not allow anybody to dictate to the committee, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY can now reveal. Certain powerful members of the task force, who felt they had been close to the seat of power, were said to have been infuriated and they swore that Ribadu would not dictate to them how the committee would go about its task.
A member of the 21-man task force confided in LEADERSHIP SUNDAY yesterday that the powerful members regarded Ribadu’s action as dictatorial and waited for the appropriate time to extract their pound of flesh.

But the member, who sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, stated that the drama which occurred during the presentation of the 147-page report was uncalled for.

He added that the report contained comprehensive recommendations that would not only assist the country in curbing corruption in the oil sector but also advise the federal government on how to apply strict regulation of the sector and  collection of revenue from oil companies for positive development.

According to the source, subterranean moves were made by certain members to prevent the task force from unravelling the rot in crude oil sales and payment of royalties.

He added that some of the members were given other appointments in federal government agencies, leading to divided interest.

The member said, “After our inauguration as members of the task force, we started witnessing certain appointments by some of our members into other federal government agencies. For instance, a prominent lawyer was made the vice-chairman of a federal government parastatal during this period.

“You will also recall that Oronsaye was appointed into the NNPC  and CBN boards. Otti and two others also became NNPC board members.

“Please note that these members were unable to contribute meaningfully to the task force, since they had other national assignments. Some of them also became antagonistic to certain suggestions on how to arrive at a logical conclusion, claiming that we must consult some agencies before we could decide on issues relating to revenues that the government was expected to realise from them.

“But the other members of the committee who refused to be compromised with juicy posts have shown that we still have men and women of integrity in the country. Ab initio, the President Jonathan regime wanted Nigerians to believe that it wanted to probe the rot in the petroleum industry.

“But as soon as the committee concluded its assignment, the corrupt petroleum ministry and its spin doctors in the media decided to turn a serious national assignment to another Otedola/Farouk show. Although they have been shamed for now, they will fight back!

“Instead of engaging in diversionary debates on the unbridled opportunism of the compromised members of the committee, we should start a debate on the contents of the report and its recommendations. After all, President Jonathan was compelled to accept the report in spite of the abortive attempts to discredit it.

Commenting on the integrity of some of the members, the source said. “The country is blessed with personalities who have excelled in their chosen professions. Therefore, when my humble self and other members of the task force were called upon to serve, I knew that the federal government meant well for this country, because I knew that some of us, including Ribadu, are patriots.

“Of course, Ribadu told the task force members that nobody would be allowed to dictate to him and I am sure that this did not go down well with certain members. Their thinking was that, having been so close to Aso Rock, their views must be accepted.

“But because Ribadu has a distinct personality and some of us stood our grounds during the course of the task force, they felt threatened. I can also tell you that these members underestimated the capacity of Ribadu to manage a situation where some people have a mindset of what should be the outcome of a given assignment. Once we began the assignment, he (Ribadu) effectively took charge and told us that this was the time to leave a worthy legacy, saying that the task force must do a job that would stand the test of time.

“May I inform you that most of our members had to abandon their schedules in order to come up with the recommendations which I believe, if implemented, will help the oil sector tremendously.

On the issue of a minority report in new of the confrontation, the member said, “There is no way certain members could prepare a minority report because what was presented on Friday was the outcome of painstaking job by most members. Please note that the assignment is not only tasking but time-consuming.”

A verbal warfare had ensued during the presentation of the report of the task force to President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday when Ribadu openly castigated Oronsaye for allegedly compromising his position during a national assignment.

But Oronsaye and another member of the committee, Mr. Bernard Otti, openly disagreed with Ribadu, insisting that the process leading to the preparation of the report was flawed

some of the  members of the 21-man task force include Mr. Olisa Agbakoba (SAN), Prof Olusegun Okunnu, Mr Gerald Ilukwe, Mr. Supo Sasore (SAN) Mr. Tony Idigbe (SAN), Samaila Zubairu, Anthony George Okoli SAN, Pastor Itua Ighodalo, Mallam Samaila Zubairu, Mr. Ignatius Adegunle, Mallam Abba Kyari and Ms. Benedicta Molokwu.

Other members of the committee are the ex-officio representing the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Federal Ministry of Finance, offices of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and the Ministry of Justice, the Accountant –General of the Federation, Department of the Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Meanwhile, a human rights activist, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has commended President Jonathan for accepting the report of the Ribadu-led task force on petroleum revenue.

Falana spoke with LEADERSHIP SUNDAY yesterday in Abuja during a telephone conversation.

He said that there was the need to commend the president for accepting the report despite the disagreement between some of the members of the task force.

He said, “Jonathan deserves commendation for accepting the report in spite of certain efforts by certain individuals to thwart the efforts of the committee. You will agree with me that some multinationals and their collaborators have been short-changing and exploiting this country in the absence of strict regulation on how we manage revenue from our oil and gas.

But with the recommendations of the Ribadu-led committee, if implemented, it will no longer be business as usual for these oil firms and their collaborators. And the country will realise good revenues which will not be diverted to private pockets.”

Source: Leadership