President Muhammadu Buhari is likely to keep the oil portfolio for
himself in the new Nigerian cabinet, rather than trust anyone else with
the source of most of Nigeria’s revenue and traditional fount of
corruption, associates say.
Nigeria’s oil sector is so dirty that
nobody’s hands are clean enough to do the “surgical changes” needed, one
long-standing associate told Reuters on condition of anonymity because
the cabinet decision is still under wraps.
Another political associate said: “He will do it. It would be stupid to give that position to anyone else.”
The
first source said Buhari has still not settled on his cabinet and has
laughed off media speculation about figures he will appoint, joking with
friends as he read out a newspaper article that mentioned possible
names: “They have picked my ministers for me! Have I even told you who I
want?”
A former general who ruled Nigeria 30 years ago, Buhari
has extensive knowledge of the oil sector, having been head of the
Petroleum Trust Fund under military ruler Sani Abacha in the 1990s and
oil minister in the 1970s under Olusegun Obasanjo.
He was voted in
by Nigerians on an anti-corruption platform after years in which graft
appeared to worsen under the leadership of his predecessor Goodluck
Jonathan.
Buhari sent a list of 15 special advisors to the
outgoing national assembly for approval on Tuesday, but the cabinet is
unlikely to be publicly revealed until the end of July or early August.
The
senate, which must confirm the cabinet, will convene only briefly on
June 9 before its members are expected to go on recess for up to six
weeks.
“It’s going to be a lean government, I doubt he’ll have 42
ministries like Jonathan but he must have at least 36 (for the number of
states) as prescribed by the constitution, though it does not specify
whether they have to be senior or junior,” an advisor in the ruling APC
party told Reuters.
The new administration had not yet gone through reports on Jonathan’s handover notes on policy, the advisor said.
“There
is a huge body of proposals being bandied around the place,” the
advisor said, adding that nothing beyond broad strokes had been
outlined.
TASK AHEAD IN THE OIL SECTOR
Jonathan has left
Buhari with a cash-strapped government, with a rainy-day fund so
depleted that it must borrow just to cover salaries.
The
government relies on oil sales for the bulk of its revenues but there
has been little oversight on how these are handled. Former central bank
governor Lamido Sanusi was sacked under Jonathan after he declared that
some $20 billion in oil revenues were missing between 2012 and 2013.
The
dealings inside the state owned company NNPC are so opaque that
PriceWaterhouseCoopers, commissioned to do a forensic audit over the
missing funds, said it was unable to obtain enough account
documentation.
Not only is oil money stolen through accounting
gymnastics and oversight gaps, but oil itself goes missing at unmetered
oilfield well heads, pipeline taps and export terminals.
Pipeline
protection and coastal inspection contracts have been given to
ex-militants of the oil-producing delta who kidnapped foreign oil
workers and blew up key infrastructure until a 2009 amnesty. Buhari
plans to let the 60 billion naira-a-year amnesty program end in December
as scheduled to save money and it is unclear what he will fund in its
place.
The new leader has also made clear that he wants to revamp
Nigeria’s refining sector, which declined while the country became
dependent on imports for fuel.
“He’s emotionally attached to the
refineries because he built some of them. He wants them to start
functioning again,” the APC source said.
0 Comments