Naija News

After probing the operations of agencies involved in fuel subsidy management in Nigeria for over a month, the chairman of the adhoccommittee that carried out the probe, Hon. Farouk Lawan, has assured that the report of the committee will be laid before the House in three weeks’ time.

Speculations had become rife that the committee had been infiltrated by agents of those likely to be indicted by the members and that the report would never be made public.

Some even said that the committee had been split by pecuniary interests, heightening the possibility of many reports to favour the different camps.

But in an exclusive interview with reporters , Lawan said that the report would be laid before the committee of the whole House in three weeks’ time.

The committee chairman said: “We decided to expeditiously conclude this exercise and that’s why we did not waste time in conducting the public hearing and since the end of the hearing we have been extremely busy trying to put our report together.

"In order to come up with a report that will be fair, just and objective, we need to sit down and collate the relevant data that was presented to us so that we can hopefully come up with an acceptable report that will reflect the true position of our findings.”

He added that: "Within the next two to three weeks we will be able to get our report ready and we will present it on the floor of the house,” the chairman announced, adding that despite the sheer volume of documents that were presented before them, members of the committee were working round the clock to conclude the assignment.

Reacting to an allegation of division among the committee members which is likely to produce multiple reports, Lawan assured that all the eight members of the committee were on the same page, adding that  "there is no division within our ranks and there will be no minority report. It will be one report that will hopefully attempt to answer must of the key issues that have come to fore."

“We all have a common goal and objective, which is to do our work with every sense of responsibility and to ensure that at the end of the day, the credibility of the committee members and that of the House is maintained."

On the speculations that he was facing threats to his political career by certain interest groups over his refusal to tone down his report, Lawan said it was not true that he had been directly threatened by any individual or group over the national assignment.

He said he had not even decided on his next political office to warrant any potential threat.

He said however that it was natural for some interest groups to attempt to influence the work of such a committee in order to alter its outcome one way or the other but said the committee would not be distracted in the discharge of its duty to the nation.

He said, "Our position is simple; we didn’t go into this exercise with any mindset, we didn’t go into it with the desire to witch hunt or rubbish anyone, but there will not be sacred cow."

“This exercise is bigger than the ad hoc committee, bigger than the House of Representatives because of the passion, the concern and the interest with which Nigerians have followed our public hearing.

“It is apparent that Nigerians deserve an accurate, fair and objective work and that explains why we are committed to deliver to Nigerians,” he added.

Allaying the fears of Nigerians on the possibility of the report to go the way of several other similar probes, Lawan said that the government appreciates that things could no longer be business as usual in the country.

He drew attention to the fact that the public hearing had elicited the interest, concern and the passion of Nigerians, thereby placing a big responsibility on the members to ensure that the right thing is done once and for all in the area of fuel subsidy.

“You must appreciate the fact that the issue of subsidy has attracted the attention of every single Nigerian. So, beyond leaving the responsibility to those of us in government, every Nigerian, the civil society and the media should also have an interest in ensuring that the right thing is done,” the chairman said.