By Joe Brock
ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigerian President
Goodluck Jonathan is coming under pressure to prosecute top officials implicated in a $6.8 billion fuel
subsidy fraud, but many of the suspects are allies he is unlikely to go after if wants to keep his
power base intact.
It has been three weeks since
parliament produced a report detailing massive corruption in a state subsidised petrol import scheme
and Jonathan has yet to indicate how he intends to respond.
Inaction on one of the biggest
corruption scandals in Nigerian history will hurt Jonathan’s reformist credentials and further
alienate his government from a disillusioned population. It could also prompt major public
protests.
But some of Jonathan’s closest allies manage the oil industry, which is based in his
home region, and the tentacles of the subsidy fraud spread throughout the political elite, making it
near impossible to untangle.
“In the past pressure for change has usually prompted the casting
aside of a scapegoat,” said Antony Goldman, Nigeria analyst and head of Africa-focused PM
Consulting.
“Too many people in the ruling elite do not want an end to corruption, they just
want their turn. From an external perspective, failure to act may indeed look like weakness; the
domestic environment is more complex.”
Civil society groups have threatened protests if those
they deem responsible for the mess, including Oil Minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, and heads of the
state oil firm, aren’t sacked.
In January, thousands bought the nation to standstill in
protests against an attempted removal of the subsidy.
“The president is hoping this will blow
away and we believe his own vested interests are holding him back,” said Clement Nwankwo, a political
activist with the Abuja-based Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, one of many that led protests in
January.
Jonathan already has many opponents and is struggling to contain an Islamist insurgency
in the north. In a country where patronage and largesse still determine political success, prosecuting
power brokers is risk he is unlikely to take.
SUBSIDY FRAUD
The report said Nigeria paid
900 percent more in fuel subsidies last year than it budgeted for, handing out billions of dollars to
briefcase companies that had no capacity to import fuel or to firms that sold the petrol to
neighbouring countries.
Criticism focused on fuel importers and government agencies but the
report’s evidence pointed to several ministries and the central bank. If Jonathan implements its
recommendations he will undermine a large section of the team he chose to run the country.
“I
don’t think we’re going to see high level officials in jail … that would imply his regime had
imploded,” said Patrick Smith, editor of Africa Confidential.
“The government didn’t want this
to come out. It isn’t hard to track back some of this to the top people in
government.”
Jonathan this week squashed speculation about a cabinet reshuffle, saying he had
confidence in existing ministers, to the dismay of activists who wanted tough action. He has said
subsidy fraudsters will be prosecuted, but called for patience.
He built his career in the
oil-rich Niger Delta, where much of the fraud took place under the noses of security agents and
politicians he has worked closely with for decades.
Some of the fuel import firms criticised in
the probe have politicians as stakeholders – aviation minister Stella Oduah runs one of them. Others
are owned by oil industry oligarchs who have helped fund Jonathan’s election campaigns.
Femi
Otedola, the CEO of Forte Oil, one of Nigeria’s biggest fuel importers which testified at the hearing
but was not named in the list of fraudsters, was made a member of Jonathan’s economic management team
this year.
“If he is going to act, he needs to be very careful … the scam reaches into many
powerful crannies,” said Kayode Akindele, partner at Lagos-based financial advisory firm 46
Parallels.
COSTLY INACTION
Government sources and political analysts see dismissals of
mid-level officials and the banning of some fraudulent fuel importers, rather than arrests of senior
officials, as a likely compromise.
Swiss-based oil firm Nimex Petroleum was suspended this month
by Nigeria’s fuel regulator for failing to provide documents for fuel shipments, a sign authorities
may target the importers rather than government regulators.
It is unlikely to be enough to
appease an angry public. Some government officials said January’s protests were aided and funded by
political opponents and they believe Jonathan’s rivals may use the subsidy probe to build momentum
against him.
Jonathan won an election a year ago that international observers considered one of
the fairest in decades, but he has not capitalised on early optimism. An insurgency by Islamist sect
Boko Haram has distracted his team and delayed reforms.
How he balances public demands for
action on corruption with the interests of an entrenched elite feeding off it may determine his ability
to implement important reforms such as power privatisation.
“Lack of action has the potential to
further alienate the Goodluck Jonathan government from the general public and reduce support and
momentum for other reforms,” Akindele said.
“This is a defining moment for the Jonathan
government.”