Inside Story Of Ribadu Panel Report

The seed of the open confrontation between the chairman of the Petroleum Revenue Task Force, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, and the deputy chairman of the task force, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, was sown when Ribadu told other members during its inaugural meeting that the he would not allow anybody to dictate to the committee, LEADERSHIP SUNDAY can now reveal.

Certain powerful members of the task force, who felt they had been close to the seat of power, were said to have been infuriated and they swore that Ribadu would not dictate to them how the committee would go about its task.

A member of the 21-man task force confided in LEADERSHIP SUNDAY yesterday that the powerful members regarded Ribadu’s action as dictatorial and waited for the appropriate time to extract their pound of flesh.

But the member, who sought anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, stated that the drama which occurred during the presentation of the 147-page report was uncalled for.