Institutional corruption: NNPC and JAMB as metaphors

Following disparity in the remittances of Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in the past and now, the Federal Government ordered the probe of the past heads of the agencies, having smelt seedy misdeeds.

While many have hailed the decision of the Federal Government, a handful of others believe it’s another vindictive exercise by those in the power loop to gain political capital.

According to a record obtained by an online medium from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation’s office, N11,522,808 was remitted to the coffers of the state in 2011.

The record further showed that N25,303,274 and N13,926,462 were remitted in 2013 and 2014 respectively. While nothing was remitted in 2012, 2015 and 2016, N5,177,580, 297 was remitted within the first nine months of 2017.

In her reaction, minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, says the over N5b remitted by the Prof. Oloyede-led JAMB is the highest in the last 40 years and wondered why there is a huge gap between what is remitted by JAMB recently and past remittances.

Her words: ‘‘This year so far, they have brought N5b and the minister of education reported that they have additional N3b that they want to remit, which will take the figure in this year alone to N8b.Now, they have not increased their charges. They have not increased their fees.’’

However, just as the dust raised by humongous remittance was settling, the minister of state for petroleum resources stir the hornet’s nest with a memo addressed to the president but leaked to the dailies, detailing what has been described in certain quarters as abuse of office and corruption in the NNPC.

In the letter, Kachikwu had alleged that contracts worth $25b were awarded without due process, among other allegations.

Though the allegation of misconduct by the junior minister of petroleum resources has been refuted by the NNPC, stakeholders have called for a thorough investigation into the matter.

Prior to the $25b contract scandal, investigation by the House of Representatives revealed that crude oil sold between 2011 and 2014 was $123b with the CRF credited put only at $42.7b within the same period.

Worthy of mention is the $24b alleged dubious crude oil swap entered into by the NNPC with some companies.

Time to review revenue profile of agencies
Convener of the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (COHRD), Barrister Inibehe Effiong has described the NNPC as the face of corruption, adding that it is importance to have a forensic audit of JAMB and other agencies of government.

Inibehe said, “Corruption is not strange to Nigeria. The cancer of corruption has permeated all the strata of the Nigerian society.

The revelation about the leadership of JAMB exposes what has been happening over the years. There has never been probity. “It’s important for government to have a forensic audit of the agency.

This revelation should provide a window to review a window to review the revenue profile of agencies.’’ Inibehe added that “Some of us are surprised why the president made himself the petroleum minister.

If there is any corruption allegation in the petroleum sector, his name will come up because he oversees the ministry. The president cannot separate himself from the corruption allegation in the ministry he oversees.

“Also, there is a need to carry out a thorough probe. But we have seen probes carried out in the past and nothing has come out of them: Look at the case of Babachir Lawal and Oke.”

On the way forward, Inibehe said, ‘‘We must insist on accountability and continue to sensitise Nigerians. Corruption thrives because the culture of impunity is not encouraged. There must be a policy of accountability and consequence. We must build strong institutions.’’

Vigilance is key
For the executive chairman of the Committee for the Protection of People’s Mandate, Nelson Ekujumi, the remittance by the Oloyede-led JAMB and the litany of scandals associated with the NNPC and other agencies of government should be a wakeup call for Nigerians to keep their leaders on their toes.

“What this tells us is that the time has come to realise that internal vigilance must be stepped up. We must monitor activities of the heads of these institutions. We need to keep them on their toes. Collectively, the only way out is public consciousness.’’

Reacting to the allegations by Kachikwu in his memo, Ekujumi, told The Daily Times that he is satisfied with the response of the GMD. “He has cleared the air. Kachikwu was too hasty.

One expects him to be conversant with how NNPC works. The only issue Baru was silent on is the issue of lopsided appointments. Kachikwu’s letter was based on assumption. He is a technocrat. He should know better.’’

Disagreeing with Ekujumi, former commissioner of information in Edo state, Louis Odion, insists Kachikwu’s petition must be taken seriously.

In a piece he wrote recently, Odion said the the official spin doctors appear to have pushed the gear to overdrive. “We are, for instance, told no cash was involved in the $25b transaction at NNPC’s expense.

Does that foreclose the prospect of bribes exchanging hands before and after the sweetheart deals? But Nigerians would probably have got madder had they the presence of mind to contemplate the words left unsaid between the lines in Kachikwu’s petition.’’

Meanwhile, the presidency has dismissed claims that $25b worth of oil contracts was awarded.

Like Petrobras like NNPC?
Reports have it that a probe of the scandal known as “Operation car wash” in government-controlled oil company in Brazil, Petrobras, landed several Petrobras executives and powerful Brazilian politicians in jail.

According to Wikipedia, initially, a money laundering investigation had expanded to cover allegations of corruption at the state-controlled oil company where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices.

Though some observers argue that the scandal that rocked Petrobras bear no similarity with allegations of corruption in NNPC, they agree that the Nigerian government can build institutions that will punish corrupt government officials in government agencies as witnessed in Brazil.

In the run up to the 2015 general election, President Muhammadu Buhari trumpeted his desire to fight corruption to a standstill, especially institutional corruption.

With his now famous quote – “If we don’t kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria’’, some Nigerians have expressed desire to see the Buhari government deliver a crippling blow to the vermin called corruption.

Will the Buhari government kill corruption in our institutions? The answer lies in the womb of time.