A group, Indepedent Media Policy Initiative (IMPI), has commended what it called the zero tolerance for corruption by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration.
The group offered the commendation in its appraisal of the Tinubu administration in the last eight months.
Addressing newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday, Chairman of IMPI, Niyi Akinsiju, charged the present administration not to falter in its investigation of axed Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Betta Edu.
He said: “Perhaps, the most significant policy position in all of these will be one that broadly and dimensionally addresses corruption in the country. Corruption is a disincentive to foreign investment especially of the kind we are so desirous to have in Nigeria at this time.
“However, we take notice of the President’s swift response to corruption allegations against a member of his cabinet, Dr. Betta Edu, by suspending and ordering her investigation.
“Without prejudice to the outcome of the ongoing investigation, we urge the President not to bow to pressure, but ensure that the report of that investigation and those of other government officials under investigation be made public in the spirit of transparency.
“This will go a long way to sending clear signals to local and international audiences about the Tinubu administration’s seriousness to tackle the scourge of corruption as recently observed by the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken during a recent visit to Nigeria.”
Akinsiju also noted that the commitment to tackle corruption informed the removal of the fuel subsidy regime which he maintained was a drain on scarce public fund.
“Everybody now subscribed that fuel subsidy must go. It isn’t sustainable. It was bad that states could not pay salary. Because NNPCL was doing under recovery, there was no money to be shared amongst the states. How do we salvage the situation. The objective truth is that, at this time, this is no longer sustainable and resources must be channeled to other developmental spheres.
“Now we are sure of fiscal resources, fiscal earnings unlike before.
“On his first day in office, the President rightly acknowledged that the fuel subsidy regime was an albatross on the nation’s economy with debilitating impact on its sustainability and by extension, a threat to the quality of life of the generality of Nigerians, if a decisive policy statement was not immediately made and enforced.
“While taking cognizance of the associated economic challenges that households are grappling with, it is our considered opinion that the decision by the President to announce the removal of fuel subsidy is not only courageous but commendable.
“More important, it was a measure to eliminate the long standing subsidy related corruption perpetrated by the cartel of the subsidy regime.
“From a policy impact point of view, the measure triggered the immediate positive outturn on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) consumption and related revenue earnings compared to the pre-subsidy removal regime.
“Distinguished members of the media, you can all attest to the fact that just about a month after the announcement of the removal of fuel subsidy, national daily fuel consumption fell dramatically from an unexplainable 66.7 million litres a day as of May 2023 to 45 million litres. The consumption size has further reduced and now stabilised at 43.3 million litres a day.
“This steep reduction has led to a quantum leap in total gross revenue going into the federation account and subsequent FAAC allocation to the three tiers of government from N786.161bn in May 2023 to a high of N1.1trn in August because NNPCL was no longer resorting to its famed under-recovery.
“And for the first time in the history of FAAC, the Federal Government of Nigeria started cultivating the culture of savings from revenue accruals beginning from the over N700bn that was saved in July last year when the FAAC received the sum of N1.959 trillion.
“This has marked a turning point in Federation accruals and revenue generation with implications for budget performance,” the group chairman said.
