Date: 2012-04-22

Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo, and a former governor of Kwara State, Senator Bukola Saraki may have got into trouble as a result of the probe of the fuel subsidy regime embarked upon by an ad-hoc committee of the House of Representatives, albeit for different reasons.

Sunday Tribune reliably gathered that Dankwabo might have stirred the hornet's nest because he reportedly disclaimed the report of the fuel subsidy probe committee which, while former Governor Saraki was said to have become a target of security operatives over allegations that he masterminded the fuel subsidy probe embarked upon by the House.

The development resulted in anxiety among the former governor's loyalists, especially as the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) of the Nigeria Police has been said to have invited him, with some expressing the fear that the summon might be an attempt to "deal with him."

Saraki was reported to have said that the "fuel subsidy management lacks transparency and control."

He was also reported to have raised the alarm that with the trend in 2011, the nation might

have fuel subsidy bill of over Nl.2 trillion as against the N240 billion budgeted in the Appropriation Bill.

The committee had also confirmed Saraki's alarm with its discovery that fuel subsidy gulped  N2, 587, 087 in 2011.

It was learnt that since Wednesday when the committee made its report public, Saraki has been under intense pressure and condemnation from some marketers and certain other forces within the industry.

"The former governor has been receiving calls in which he was being blamed for all the mess unearthed by the House committee. He has also spent a considerable time going to influential forces in government to explain that he meant well with his motion. But these forces are not persuaded by his argument," a source confided in Sunday Tribune.

It was also learnt the SFU invited Saraki over an N8.5 billion loan granted some companies in which he is a shareholder by the defunct Intercontinental Bank.

Besides, he is also said to be wanted for clarification on how the "marginal loans" owed the bank by the companies, Limkers Nigeria limited, Skyview Properties Limited and Joy Petroleum, were written off.

However, a source privy to the loan transactions said the SFU had no business with the management of such bad debts as "it is now the responsibility of the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON)."

"The major issue involved here is that of margin loans. Shares bought were used as collateral. When the shares lost about 75 per cent of their value, the security depreciated, necessitating negotiation between the bank and its customers.

"Writing off portions of non-performing loans is not unusual in the industry, especially when the security cannot be called in. The process to write off portions of the said loans were started by the former executive vice-chairman of the bank, Erastus Akingbola, and only implemented by his successor, Mr. Lai Alabi, whose mandate was debt recovery.

"A private transaction between a bank and its customers is not a matter for the SFU as no fraud is involved. If there is an issue at all about process, it should be an issue with the regulatory authorities, not the police. This issue came up in 2010 and was investigated by the CBN, which saw no evidence of wrong-doing as proper approval was sought and given for the write-off by the board of the bank.

"The day the approval was given, 11 of such cases were taken by the board of the bank. He has no interests in Joy Petroleum. For the companies he has interests in, the issue was that of margin loans, and it was purely a transaction between a bank and its customers. No fraud was involved and due process was followed. This smells of political victimisation. Is it payback time for those uncomfortable with the role he played in the subsidy probe? He raised the motion that started it all. The timing shows that there may be a link with the release of the House report on subsidy probe and the forthcoming Senate report.

"There is a concern that there is a plot to target those who played active part in the probe. This will be unfortunate because Nigerians expect the government to implement the report and tame corruption, rather than witch-hunt those trying to sanitise the system.

"There is more to the invitation from the SFU since the report was submitted. For instance, out of the three companies, Saraki is neither a director nor a shareholder in Joy Petroleum. Yet, the SFU appeared to be more interested in Joy Petroleum than other firms," the source noted.