THE Presidency and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday, said they were ready for any probe the incoming administration of President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) would undertake.
The Presidency was responding to Buhari’s resolve to probe the reported Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) missing $20 billion and allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) of last-minute looting of the treasury and rash actions by the outgoing government. It said the party would probe activities of the government especially after the March 28 presidential polls.
This is coming as a host of eminent Nigerians threw their weight behind Buhari’s plan to probe the NNPC.
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor and now Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, was suspended by President Jonathan last year after he alleged that the NNPC failed to remit more than $20 billion of oil revenue to the government.
Addressing State House correspondents, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said the release of the report was to put to rest any doubt about government’s transparency in the oil sector.
According to Abati, the incoming administration of Buhari is free to review all actions and policies of the President Jonathan administration, including revenues and expenditure on projects.
Abati said the President’s decision to order the release of the audit report was to demonstrate that he had noting to hide.
Abati said since President Jonathan also reviewed policies of his predecessors on assumption of office for better understanding and further actions, General Buhari was free to review the President’s policies.
He explained that President Jonathan was deeply concerned by the continuing suggestions that his administration still has anything to hide about the unproven allegation that about $20 billion is unaccounted for by the NNPC during his tenure.
“As Alhaji Lai Mohammed threatened in his statement, the incoming administration will be perfectly within its rights to review all actions of the present government as it may deem fit…To lay the matter to rest, President Jonathan in line with Section 7(2) of the NNPC Act, has directed that the full report of the PWC Forensic Audit of the NNPC accounts be released immediately to the public so that all Nigerians will be properly informed on the matter,” he said.
On allegations by the APC spokesman that looting of the national treasury by Ministries, Department and Agencies, was ongoing, the Presidential spokesman said: “We also consider as most unfortunate and uncharitable, the suggestion by Alhaji Mohammed that the Jonathan Administration is trying to “tie the hands” of the incoming government merely by continuing to discharge its constitutional responsibilities until the end of its tenure.
“The Jonathan Administration which continues to do its best to ensure a smooth and peaceful handover of power to the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, deeply regrets the unfairness and combative frame of mind reflected in Alhaji Mohammed’s statement. President Jonathan has done his best in the past five years to discharge his constitutional responsibilities for good governance and effective leadership of the nation.
“Without any prejudice whatsoever to the freedom of the incoming administration to do as it pleases, within the confines of extant laws when it assumes office, the Jonathan Administration will continue to discharge its responsibility to govern until May 29, 2015. President Jonathan will also never authorise any attempt to create any problems for the incoming administration as the APC spokesperson, ought to know that the outcome of the March 28 presidential elections does not imply a cessation of governance, unjustly alleges,” he said.
Eminent Nigerians back probe
The issue elicited support from a host of eminent Nigerians, yesterday, who said that the decision to probe the NNPC is in order.
Probe in order —Etiebet
Former Minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet said: “I believe the probe will be very much in order. The subject matter has been very controversial in the public domain and a succeeding government, acting in the public interest, has every right to go into it to put the records straight for posterity’s sake. If the incoming government refused to probe the NNPC, it can be accused of a cover-up as the subject matter cannot just go away or be forgotten like that.”
We’re not afraid of probe —PDP
The national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said yesterday that the party was not in any way afraid of the planned probe of alleged missing $20 billion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC by the President- elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, retd.
In a text message to Vanguard yesterday, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh who noted that the probe was a welcome development, however warned that as a party, it would resist any witch-hunt or selective probe, adding that there must be no sacred cows.
He said, “ PDP is not afraid of probe, but we would resist any witch-hunt and any probe that is selective or discriminatory.”
Buhari should be supported on probe —Tsav
Also speaking, a retired Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, said: ‘’The money allegedly missing in NNPC account is not a small money. It is big and should be a matter of concern to responsible and responsive governments, including all patriotic Nigerians. But this seems not to be the case here. The person who reported the alleged missing funds, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was harassed and intimidated. He was suspended and his passport impounded. He was hounded for arrest, all in attempts to silence him. I support the President-elect’s desire to do so when he assumes office. This move will provide Nigerians the opportunity to know who between the Presidency and Sanusi is saying the truth. I support Buhari on this. I support the probe.’’
Buhari should go beyond probing NNPC —Onyekpere
Executive Director of the Centre for Social Justice, Mr. Eze Onyekpere, described the decision to probe the $20 billion allegation against the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, as a welcome development but urged the incoming President Buhari administration to go beyond the probe to restructure the organization.
According to him, the restructuring of the NNPC remains the only way to genuinely clean up the system and restore public confidence in the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy.
Onyekpere pointed out that separating the role of the regulator from that of an active industry player was critical to cleaning up the NNPC, in line with the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB.
His words, “It is a welcome development that the President-Elect would upon the assumption of office probe the purportedly missing $20 billion. This will help to arrive at the veracity and truth of the allegation, expose and punish any culprit and restore public confidence in the oil and gas industry.
“However, what the sector needs is beyond a probe; it is about a fundamental restructuring that will separate the regulator from being an active player, introduce private sector efficiency and pave the way for investors to FINANCE
big ticket and long term transactions and projects in the oil and gas industry.
big ticket and long term transactions and projects in the oil and gas industry.
“It is a positive process of liberalization that creates opportunities for Nigerians and their friends to be in a win-win situation and this will untie the binding constraints on Nigeria’s development. This will be a PIB type of reform that addresses fundamental issues in the sector without creating new bottlenecks and opportunities for rent-seeking by government agencies and functionaries.
David-West, Amao endorse probe
Former Minister of Petroleum, Tam David-West, is fully in support of the probe. He is of the opinion that the perpetrators, if caught, should be severely punished.
He said: “I am supportive of the decision by the president-elect to probe the NNPC missing fund, because he will not close his eyes and see corruption go without adequate punishment.
“This fund is supposedly meant for the welfare of the masses and the development of other sectors of the country that would better the lives of ordinary Nigerians. I vote for life imprisonment for those who are found to be part of such mishap to the country’s economy.’’
However, it is to be noted that the initiative by the president-elect to probe the culprits is not an act to witch-hunt anybody, but is to see that evil is rewarded accordingly by
the law. And as such, if armed robbery is punished, ‘official robbers’ should be given stricter punishment that would pave way for others with such proclivity.”
He maintained that Buhari should ensure that he recovers all controversial money that is stolen from the petroleum industry.
Also, Dr. Ibilola Amao, Principal Consultant, Lonadek Nigeria Limited, a firm of local content consultants, lauds the initiative.
“The initiative is refreshing to the industry, but on a second opinion, it is required of the President-elect, after the exit of the minister and reshuffling of related cabinet, especially those who provided data to the auditors, that gave NNPC a clean bill of health. Clarity is required on debt owed the IOCs, cash calls and payments made for IOC’s divestment.’’
Extend probe to Gulf oil windfall report — Adonri
In his reaction, Mr. David Adonri, Chief Executive Officer, Highcap Securities Limited also expressed support for the decision of Muhammadu Buhari to probe the allegedly missing $20 billion, calling, however, for the probe to be extended to the Gulf oil windfall probe report and other periods in the past.
According to him, the probe should be extended to past administrations, ensuring that all the monies stolen in the past till date are recovered.
He said, “$20 billion is a colossal sum. The last probe of the petroleum industry during Abacha’s tenure indicted Babangida for the disappearance of $12 billion Gulf war oil windfall.
“Buhari should recover that money and all others stolen to date from that industry and also address the petroleum subsidy scam.”
Stakeholders should conduct audit — Okigbo
Also commenting on the issue, Mr. Patrick Okigbo, Principal Partner, Nextier Limited, called on Buhari to allow industry stakeholders to conduct the audit on NNPC’s operational and financial processes, by engaging the services of independent petroleum sector auditors.
He said, “The main challenge with Nigeria’s petroleum sector is a lack of transparency with the technical and financial processes. Most of the transactions highlighted above may have some merit; however, when cloaked in secrecy, they provide room for fraud and other forms of abuse.
“There is need for a detailed audit of the activities of NNPC. However, judging from Nigeria’shistory with audits of the petroleum industry, there is little or no confidence that an audit conducted by the government will result in any meaningful changes to the sector. Therefore, there is need for an organisation of industry stakeholders to conduct such an audit.
“The audit can be achieved under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act. The organisation should engage the services of a forensic audit firm with expertise in the technical and financial operations of Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
No govt can gloss over the issue —Okorie
The National Chairman and presidential candidate of United Progressive Party in the just concluded election, Chief Chekwas Okorie said, “The amount is a staggering amount. You do not expect any government to gloss over it. Since the doubts are there, I think it is necessary to get the truth about it. Nevertheless, the probe should be what it is supposed to be and not a witch-hunting exercise.
“The sum of $20 billion is not an amount to gloss over. That amount can fund a project. The government was busy borrowing money form financial houses when such an amount was claimed to be missing.
“When there is doubt, a responsible government should not gloss over it. If I where him, I would go ahead to probe the allegation so that it can be used to tackle other issues.”
It’ll expose the truth —Ozon-Eso
The General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Dr. Peter Ozon-Eso said, “Well, I believe it is something that will be good so that we know where the truth lies because in terms of payment into the Federation Account, we need to know if there are linkage so that going forward, the linkage would be blocked.
“The amount of 20 billion dollars is not chicken feed and so, the probe should also cover those who superintended at the time, so that Nigerians will know where the truth lies and ensure that such people are not allowed to exist. I think it is something that should be done.”
Buhari is in order — Adenikinju
Prof. Adeola Adenikinju of Department of Economics, University of Ibadan and energy consultant for the European Union, United Nations, the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company, NLNG, The African Economic Research Consortium, OECD, UNIDO, ECOWAS, UNECA, the World Bank, and the National Data Bank, said: “Well, since it is about accountability and transparency, in the management of the nation’s oil and gas sector, it is a welcome development.
“After all, it is an allegation and the NNPC has said no money is missing, it is important for Nigerians to know the truth. I think, the President-elect is in order.”
Make corruption a capital offence, HURIWA begs Buhari
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, yesterday, welcomed the resolve of Buhari to investigate the missing $20 billion.
In a statement in Abuja, the group, however, cautioned against selective justice or unnecessary witch-hunt of perceived political enemies, even as it urged the incoming National Assembly to understudy the Chinese anti-graft model so as to introduce the death penalty as punishment for corruption by government officials and contractors.
According to the group, “the decision to probe the alleged missing $20 billion is a welcome recantation or swift reversal of his earlier unpopular decision not to re- open any corruption cases that happened before March 28, 2015.
“We urge the President elect to begin by totally reorganizing the anti-graft institutions by bringing in capable Nigerians of integrity to head the institutions so as to revive the now moribund anti-graft bodies.”
It’s a welcome development —Reps
Members of the House of Representatives, yesterday, said Buhari’s decision to probe the missing NNPC’s $20 billion was a welcome development.
The lawmakers hinged their submission on the fact that there is nothing wrong in the president-elect’s further investigations into the matter.
Deputy Leader of the House, Rep Leo Ogor said: “It is a welcome development if the president-elect wants to probe further but at the same time he should be careful not to base whatever action he wants to take on hearsay alone”.
“Also provided the further probe is within the ambit of the law we shall gladly look into it because we are all against corruption in all ramifications”.
In his contribution, Rep Kyari Gujbawu, PDP, Borno, said” it is a sweet development particularly if you look at the revolutionary manner he emerged probing, fighting corruption should be a welcome development so long as it is not a witch hunt.”
Hon. Ogbonnaya Nwuke, the member representing Etche/Omuma Federal Constituency of Rivers State, said it was a welcome development that will introduce financial discipline and curb embezzlement in the country.
He said: “The President-elect has clearly shown that there would be no hiding for system thieves whose penchant for stealing and looting public funds.”
Attempts to get to the bottom of the missing money would certainly strengthen the integrity of the incoming administration in the eyes of the world and doers would pay dearly for the suffering they bring upon millions of people when selfishly steal from the public coffers, when they truncate our hope for the provision of basic infrastructures and debase values are that ethical, fair and just”, he said.
- See more at: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/04/nnpcs-missing-20bn-ive-nothing-to-hide-says-jonathan/#sthash.kJOD8P8K.dpuf
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