NNPC: Allegations and challenges
In recent times, however, scathing allegations of fraud from individuals, organizations and agencies has tainted the image of the nation’s oil giant in the last few months, much to the delight of the critics of government. One of such allegation was the report credited to the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam […]
In recent times, however, scathing allegations of fraud from individuals, organizations and agencies has tainted the image of the nation’s oil giant in the last few months, much to the delight of the critics of government. One of such allegation was the report credited to the former governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, alleging that the corporation withheld the sum of $49.8 billion representing 76 percent of the total crude oil revenues from January 2012 to July 2013. This allegation was stoutly refuted by the then Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs of NNPC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim. In statements to the press after a reconciliation agreement with the finance minister, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the amount actually unaccounted came to $20 billion. This inconsistency mirrors that of the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), which claimed earlier that the total sum of $22.8 billion was un-remitted by NNPC.
However, in a dramatic u-turn, NEITI blamed the media for misleading the public by quoting her wrongly.
With all these unverified figures about NNPC flying around, can anybody be blamed to now believe that all the allegations of corruption against it and the supervising petroleum minister, particularly those about charter aircraft maintenance, are mere perceptions and stereotypes? Obviously, what all these portend is a dangerous trend where people saddled with responsibilities of authority are in a haste to join and boost the case of the army of those who want the head of people in sensitive government position off their neck.
Johnson Eze, Abuja