Lagos – Mr Tunji Adeniji, the Managing Director (MD), IPMAN Investment Company, has debunked an alleged report of N10.9 billion subsidy scam credited to Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo, a factional president of the association.
This is contained in a communiqué issued and signed by Adeniji after the IPMAN National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja on Sunday and made available to newsmen in Lagos.
Adeniji described as `false’ the allegation that its Board of Trustees (BoT)’s Chairman, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir, embezzled the proceeds of petroleum subsidy claim of the association amounting to over N10.9 billion.
He said that the allegation, which was recently leveled against Abdulkadir by Okoronkwo , was untrue insisting that Abdulkadir was not guilty of such a crime.
The MD said that the association would not hesitate to institute court charges against Okoronkwo for misleading and misinforming the general public.
According to him, Okoronkwo had earlier commended the IPMAN investment committee for its effective and efficient accountability of the association’s investments.
The IPMAN investment boss said that the allegation was the handiwork of elements that claimed they were unhappy with the current peaceful state within the company.
He, however, challenged anyone with evidence of wrong doing in IPMAN to come forward with such information for appropriate actions, insisting that there was nothing like a N10.9 billion subsidy claim.
Adeniji said that IPMAN Investment Company is legally constituted with credible members managing it.
He said that all permits given to the company by the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) were duly executed and the truck out certified.
“IPMAN Investment Company requires an express apology from Okoronkwo for his acts of gross misrepresentation of facts or he should be ready to face appropriate legal actions,’’ he said.
Adeniji said that IPMAN was a company registered in Nigeria and engages in the importation of refined petroleum products under the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) scheme of the Federal Government.
“The Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) scheme was set up to enable adequate payment of subsidy to marketers through the Petroleum Produce Pricing and Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).
“The Debt Management Office (DMO) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also regulate subsidy payment.
“Subsidy payment is a cost recovery system whereby marketers are paid the differential between the total cost of import and the regulated price of the government which can be over-recovery or under-recovery as the case may be.
Adeniji said that it was regrettable for an individual of his calibre to be talking of subsidy payment that had been executed, verified and probed in 2011 by the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC), the National Assembly and the Aig-Imokhuede Committee set up by the Federal Government.
“It is shameful that Okoronkwo started howling about missing N10.9 billion subsidy claim without getting his facts correctly and cross-checking same.
“ It is very important to put the record straight that other agencies of the Federal Government involved in the subsidy scheme including the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) and the Debt Management Office.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) did not find IPMAN Investment Limited involved or participated in any criminal or fraudulent act with respect to subsidy claims,’’ he said.
It will be recalled that the Okoronkwo-led faction of IPMAN Investment Company had on July 26 alleged that N10.9 billion was paid into the other faction of IPMAN’s account by the Federal Government as subsidy claim.
