NEWS
Okonjo-Iweala Narrates Encounter With Ruthless Fuel Subsidy Cabal
This isn’t the first time the idea of petrol subsidy removal would be mooted. The Jonathan administration under which the incumbent Director General of the World Trade Organization, WTO, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, served as Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy also had its fair share of mention in the saga.
In fact, former President Jonathan said at that time severally that fuel subsidy was unsustainable and tried unsuccessfully to remove it.
In a video that went viral last week, Okonjo-Iweala is seen narrating how she spearheaded efforts to scrap payment of questionable subsidies and how beneficiaries viciously fought back, culminating in her mother’s kidnapping and demand for her resignation.
She narrates in the video: “My second example has to do with a very specific one in my country, the clean-up of the fuel scarcity regime in 2012 during my second stay as Finance Minister.
“Nigeria has a physically challenging force of fuel regime, the country exports crude oil and imports fuel because their refineries are in a very bad shape and provides a subsidy for the refined oil as support.
“At the end of 2011, a total of N1.73tr, US $11b equivalent, was submitted as claims for subsidy by 143 marketers, who were importing the product.
“These numbers seemed horrendously large compared to what I had last when I was in government in 2006, which was close to $2b in subsidy.
“So, we decided to study these claims. We audited about $8.4b worth of claims and we found out $2.5b worth of fraud. That is, many of these marketers were trying to claim $2.5b fraudulently.
“With the full backing of the President and the Economic Team, we decided that we were not going to entertain these claims or to pay.
“The pressure from affected marketers was tremendous…not only to say we would not pay but also to say we would clean up the whole mechanism for the subsidy claims and put in place something more transparent, something clearer.
“This did not go down well with them. When we insisted on our position of non-payment and implementation of the new verification regime, these, and well-connected interests, were angered, and came to blame me personally for this.
“There were personal consequences. My 83-year-old mother, a retired professor of sociology, was kidnapped by four young men and held for five days.
“She was totally terrified. She asked them why she had been kidnapped and they told her ‘Because your daughter, the Finance Minister, refused to pay oil marketers their dues’.
“The kidnappers, negotiating with my brother, demanded my resignation, publicly; that I should go on television, publicly and announce my resignation and depart from the country as a condition for my mother’s release.
“Needless to say these were some of the worst days of my life. Imagine when you are in a position, you want your parents, all of whom are here with you today, and your relatives to be proud of you. You want to be a source of good for your family.
“You can imagine how I felt, sitting there and thinking, just because of trying to do something right. To implement a policy that was good for the country, to lead to the taking of my mother’s life. These were some of the worst days of my life.
“With my father’s support and the firm resolve of the President, we all decided I should not give in to the blackmailers and I refused to resign.
“Following a manhunt for my mother by security agencies, she was able to make a dramatic escape after five days in captivity, where she was only given water and half of a sausage roll.
“So, here with the well-justified clean up and reform of a policy, but implemented in a dangerous reform environment where the losers in the reform, where the entrenched vested interests decided to fight back to derail implementation.
“The decision not to resign was a very difficult and risky one but, as it turned out, it worked.
“But on my down days, I ask myself, what if it hadn’t? What if they had gone ahead and murdered my mother, as she overheard them planning to do with one of the handlers on the phone? Could I have justified trading firmness on policy and standing up to blackmailers, implementing a good policy for my mother’s life? What decision would you have made?”
As crude oil futures fell in response to the US President Donald Trump’s decision to suspend another planned military strike on Iran, he has insisted that oil companies should lower prices pronto.
Trump issued the directive on Monday, according to a post on his Truth Social platform, that oil producers reduce selling prices. “Get your consumer (retail) oil prices DOWN, NOW!” Trump wrote.
According to Oilprice.com, crude prices dropped to $83.62 on Monday. They had earlier jumped to $100 at the height of the renewed crisis between Iran and the United States.
On Monday, Trump called out Chevron Chief Executive Officer Mike Wirth after the executive appeared on television discussing the company’s business.
He accused Wirth of failing to acknowledge the administration’s role in restoring Chevron’s position in Venezuela.
“They threw Mike and Chevron out of Venezuela, but now they’re back, far bigger and stronger than ever before, expecting to make a fortune,” Trump pointed out.
READ ALSO: How Will Local Petrol Prices Respond to Tumbling Oil Prices?
Oilprice.com reported that Chevron resumed operations in Venezuela after the Trump administration reopened access to the country’s oil sector and placed exports under US control.
American refiners have since become some of the largest buyers of Venezuelan crude, restoring a market that had largely disappeared under previous sanctions.
In the United States, the national average price of regular petrol reportedly stood at about $3.29 per gallon on Monday, according to AAA, down only modestly from last week’s highs despite crude prices falling by more than six per cent in a single session.
Retail petrol prices typically lag movements in oil markets because filling stations continue to sell inventories purchased at earlier wholesale prices.
Trump’s latest demand followed two earlier interventions on petrol prices. In June, he called on the Justice Department to investigate petrol prices after crude oil retreated from earlier highs.
Days later, he urged fuel retailers to lower pump prices towards $2.50 per gallon, warning companies that failed to respond would face “big problems”.
West Texas Intermediate crude fell by more than six per cent on Monday, while Brent crude lost more than five per cent after Trump announced a new round of negotiations with Iran and cancelled what he described as a planned “massive” military strike.
Retail petrol prices generally adjust more slowly because refiners, wholesalers and retailers continue selling fuel purchased when crude prices were higher.
Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum all reported sharply higher second-quarter profits last week as the Iran conflict lifted crude prices and refining margins.
Trump’s latest demand comes as those higher earnings coincide with falling oil prices, with his administration pushing the industry to pass lower crude costs on to consumers.
In Nigeria, petrol prices range between N1,250 and N1,300 per litre, depending on the location. They stood at about N830 per litre before the US-Iran crisis began on February 28.
The Nigeria Police Force has summoned Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG) Moshood Jimoh for questioning and invited social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan (VDM), over allegations made against the senior police officer.
The development was confirmed in a statement issued on Tuesday by the Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Ani Iniedu, who said the Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of the Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Abuja, had formally invited AIG Jimoh as part of an internal investigation.
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According to the statement, the FCID also issued a letter of invitation to VeryDarkMan on July 30, 2026, requesting him to appear before the department and substantiate the claims he made publicly.
The Police said the actions underscore the Force’s commitment to accountability and transparency, stressing that every credible allegation of misconduct would be investigated regardless of the rank of the officer involved or the status of the complainant.
The statement followed recent public comments by VeryDarkMan concerning the AIG in charge of Zone 2, Lagos, and an ongoing criminal matter.
The Force, however, clarified that the criminal case referenced by the activist had already been investigated and filed before a court of competent jurisdiction based on legal advice from the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Describing the matter as sub judice, the Police maintained that the case would not be determined through media campaigns or public commentary.
“The Force will not try this case in the media, nor will it allow its outcome to be shaped by public campaigns or commentary seeking to prejudge the officers or parties involved,” the statement read.
The Police reaffirmed that its disciplinary procedures are guided by the Constitution, the Police Act 2020, Police Regulations, Force Orders and other established administrative processes, adding that the rules apply equally to all officers irrespective of rank.
While recognising citizens’ constitutional right to freedom of expression and to demand accountability from public institutions, the Force cautioned that such rights do not extend to defamation or the publication of unverified allegations.
It urged VeryDarkMan to honour the invitation by the Force CID and cooperate with investigators while allowing the courts to determine the separate criminal matter already before them.
The Police further assured Nigerians that any officer found culpable after investigation would face appropriate sanctions, while individuals found to have deliberately made false allegations aimed at damaging the reputation of an officer or the institution could also face legal action.
“The Nigeria Police Force remains an institution founded on law, discipline and accountability. No officer is above the law, and no genuine complaint is ignored; nor will any officer be sanctioned outside the procedures the law prescribes,” the statement added.
The Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) has suspended its planned nationwide strike following a high-level meeting with the Federal Government at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The breakthrough came after a three-hour meeting convened by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, and attended by key government officials, including the Ministers of Labour and Employment, Health and Social Welfare, Finance, as well as senior officials from the Budget Office, the Office of the Accountant-General, and the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
ALSO READ: Nationwide Relief as Resident Doctors Call Off Strike
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, NARD President, Dr. Muhammad Suleiman, said the discussions resulted in firm commitments from the Federal Government to address the association’s longstanding grievances.
“Today, I can tell you, our matters are solved,” Suleiman declared.
He explained that both parties agreed on clear timelines for resolving outstanding salary, promotion and allowance issues that had prompted the association to threaten industrial action.
According to him, the government also committed to implementing agreed measures on meal allowances at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) within a week.
On the issue of delayed salaries for house officers, Suleiman disclosed that the Presidency had issued a standing directive to ensure prompt payment.
“In fact, he has given a standing order that before the 10th of every month, salaries of house officers must be paid,” he said.
The NARD president also revealed that the Federal Government had directed the Ministries of Labour and Health to fast-track negotiations on the Collective Bargaining Agreement so that any agreed terms can be reflected in the 2027 budget.
Beyond welfare concerns, the meeting also addressed the growing incidents of violence against healthcare workers. Suleiman disclosed that 31 doctors and more than 20 other health workers had been assaulted in the past 10 months.
To tackle the trend, he said the Ministry of Health would strengthen security in hospitals and launch public awareness campaigns against attacks on health personnel.
He further disclosed that the Chief of Staff had pledged to champion legislation that would classify assaults on health workers as an aggravated offence.
“The Chief of Staff has taken it upon himself to introduce legislation so that the National Assembly can come in with something that will make assault on health workers an aggravated offence. We are very glad with that. We think it will send the right signal that health workers should not be assaulted,” Suleiman said.
Addressing the long-running dispute over unpaid hazard and specialist allowances, Suleiman explained that although the Federal Government corrected payment shortfalls in February 2026, a 19-month backlog dating back to July 2024 remains unresolved.
Despite expressing confidence in the outcome of the meeting, Suleiman said the association’s National Executive Council (NEC) would take the final decision on formally calling off the planned strike.
“I have National Executive Council members. I will have a conversation. I have to report all of this back. We sit down. We take a decision.
“The point is, the person that called us for this conversation has never failed resident doctors. That is what I am emphasising.”
NARD had earlier threatened to embark on an indefinite nationwide strike from August 10 if the Federal Government failed to address outstanding salary arrears, welfare concerns and other unresolved issues affecting its members.
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