By Udeme Clement

A former Minister of Interior, Captain Emmanuel Ihenacho, says that the huge sum of N3.4 trillion spent on fuel subsidy by the Federal Government in the last few years went into the wrong hands, thereby hindering economic growth and development.

Ihenacho, who dropped the hint during the inauguration of the executive council of the Maritime Reporters Association of Nigeria, held at the conference centre of the Nigerian Shippers Council, stressed that the masses are not benefiting from the fuel subsidy contrary to the belief by most people.

According to him, “if the subsidy is removed, it would enable government to provide good roads and create employment for the youths in the country. The money used in subsiding fuel should be channelled into infrastructure development to grow the economy in order to achieve the Vision 20:2020 target.”

He went on: “The reality is that the whopping sum spent by government to subsidise petroleum products went into the wrong hands. The masses are not the beneficiaries of the subsidy money. Aside from that, the oil marketers did not benefit from the subsidy as widely perceived by the people.

“There is the urgent need for the country to develop its bunker industry. Also, the country needs experts seamen for its international trade to fast track economic growth and development now and in the run-long.

Also speaking on the controversial fuel subsidy, a top official of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), who spoke at the occasion, revealed that the country was losing $1 billion  to oil theft  monthly.

The official alleged that officials of oil firms often collude with thieves to siphon the nation’s oil.

Meanwhile, NIMASA has warned indigenous shipping companies under the aegis of the Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria against piracy on the Nigerian waters.

Director General of the agency, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, who spoke through Captain Waribe Enoso, deputy director in charge of maritime safety, on the topic:  “Nigeria’s Maritime Security Realities, in Lagos, warned against a situation whereby pirates will charter vessels belonging to ISAN members for nefarious activities.

He noted, “The pirates who now adopt high technology skills in carrying out their nefarious activities, also go as far as chartering vessels belonging to genuine and unsuspecting indigenous shipping companies and use them to rob other vessels.

The indigenous ship owners in their desperate bid to make money fuel the activities of these pirates even without knowing it. We had a case in which one of the pirates came to the office of one of the indigenous companies and chartered one of their vessels and used same for piracy attacks.”

While warning that the agency would not stop the indigenous ship owners from doing their businesses, he noted that it will also not sit down and watch the indigenous ship owners’ fuel piracy attacks, arguing that they must ensure that the full identity of those chartering their vessels must be established and documented.

He disclosed that what gave the pirates, who used the ship to rob other tanker vessels of her content, was that the name of the vessel was not removed from the body, which brought about the argument that a genuine ship owner would not use his ship for such a criminal activity with her full name on her body.

The director general, who also warned the ship owners of the habit of throwing caution to the wind in preference for money no matter where it comes from, argued that most of them are going into the business because the laws are not properly enforced, which he described as dangerous for the system.