Why Obasanjo must be prosecuted ' CPC

The Congress for Progressive Change has called for the prosecution of former President Olusegun Obasanjo for allegedly mismanaging the money received from the increase in oil prices during his eight-year tenure.The party said in a statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, that it was wrong for the Senate to expose those that benefited from the subsidy without asking questions on how the money got from the previous increment on the prices of petroleum products in the past was managed.It said it was noteworthy that majority of the beneficiaries were supporters of the Peoples Democratic Party.The statement reads in part, The Congress for Progressive Change has noted with satisfaction the courageous move by the Senate committee probing the fuel subsidy management in unveiling the privileged importers of Petroleum products in the country.We consider it note-worthy that the ongoing Senate probe has shown that these executors of the fuel subsidy administration are inseparably affiliated to the ruling PDP government, a fact that played up in the funnelling of the huge resources by these to bankroll the campaign expenses for the PDP in the last Presidential elections.It is clear that the PDP-led Federal Governments insistence on freeing up more financial resources for implementation of infrastructural programmes as the basis for the strident call for the subsidy removal is puerile, dishonest and unnerving.The CPC added, First, in the eight-year rule of the PDP regime of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, the pump prices of Petroleum products were increased six times with the usual explanation of the need for diverting the savings for procuring better infrastructure. It is saddening that the government never cared about instituting the necessary structure for matching its word with action.Whilst we commend the Senate for not only conducting the probe on privatisation but also making the vociferous call for the prosecution of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo for the morally reprehensible manner in which his regime implemented the programme, we equally hope that the ongoing probe of the administration of the fuel subsidy shall lead to the needed prosecutions.The party also alleged that the PDP-led administration was not sincere in the disbursement of the over $2.6bn accruing to the government coffers from the telecommunication sector without a complementary improvement in the enabling environment for salutary telecommunication services.It added that there was no way the removal of petroleum subsidy would not negatively affect the Nigerian people with the existing parlous state of the nations refineries vis--vis their refining capacity in meeting the domestic consumption.The party said if countries like the United States of America, being the dominant force in world capitalism, could subsidise key sectors like education, agriculture and housing, there was no reason Nigeria should run away from subsidising petroleum products in the country.Efforts made by our correspondent to speak with the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP were not successful as he did not pick his mobile telephone.
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