A breaking report contains that President Muhammadu Buhari was given the specific names of oil thieves in the course of his recent visit to the US.
A member of Buhari’s entourage was said to have disclosed this information on Tuesday, July 28, to The Punch. The source added that when the Nigerian leader saw the list provided by the US, he could not believe his eyes.
“I can tell you that the President already has the list of names of the people engaging in the stealing of Nigeria’s oil. The list, when released by the president, will shock Nigerians. But let’s wait and see first.”
Another source from the presidency confirmed the information noting, however, that Buhari “has been keeping the list to himself”.
It was also obtained that there was one list with the names of high-rank Nigerian officials involved in corruption schemes and the other list with the names of illegal bunkerers. Apart from the government officials, the “oil list” allegedly contains the names of the retired and serving military chiefs.
Based on the report referring to the source disclosures, some ministers were stealing up to 250,000 barrels of Nigeria’s crude daily.
The person from Buhari’s team said Nigeria’s number 1 politician was already considering the idea of setting up a panel to try the guilty officials.
“The president will probe all of them and make sure they return whatever fortune they had made from their thievery.”
It should be recalled that Edo state Governor Adams Oshiomhole claimed that one of Goodluck Jonathan’s ministers had stolen $6billion. The information was reportedly provided by the American side in the course of Buhari’s visit. This caused serious argument among Nigerians. Many came down on Oshiomhole saying that he is one of those with itchy fingers. The others, outraged by the revelation, urged the acting government to immediately find and prosecute the minister accused of massive stealing.
In a recent development the All Progressives Congress disclosed the official position of the party regarding corrupt officials of the immediate past administration:
“Some people have insinuated that the Buhari administration should ignore the massive looting of our patrimony and move on. We say no responsible government can afford to do that, because it will amount to endorsing corruption and impunity.”
President Buhari on several occasions reiterated his commitment to fighting public funds embezzlement. This was also the case in the US where the Nigerian leader has recently met with his American counterpart Barack Obama.
Source: Naij