President Muhammadu Buhari has spoken of how several Nigerian oil marketing companies and banks colluded to defraud the country of huge sums of money in the guise of fuel subsidy.

Speaking on Saturday in an interactive session in Berlin with representatives of the Nigerian Community in Germany, President Buhari said: “There are things that are happening, which if such had happened before there would have been major riot, like the removal of subsidy on fuel.”

He said it was regrettable that over the years, oil marketers had colluded with banks to defraud Nigeria of much needed revenue from the commodity.

“One third of the activities of the oil marketers are fraudulent, you can see how some of us Nigerians are wicked. They just take the money, stamp some papers without bringing the product and this fraudulent activity was between bankers and businessmen,” he said.

The President declared that his administration will continue “to be very hard on corruption”, in addition to encouraging more Nigerians to pay their tax.

“If you work hard and get your money we will try and see how much tax you can pay us, but to take money from government and get away with it no more,” he said.

Buhari used the occasion of his interaction with Nigerians to underscore the importance of his three-day visit to Germany, the largest economy in Europe, noting that he was upbeat on improved trade ties between both countries because of new investment incentives offered by Nigeria.

•Photo shows President Buhari.

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