Audit Report Of Missing NNPC $10.8b Ready Soon, Says Okonjo-iweala

Nearly 10 months after exposure by then
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), Lamido Sanusi, that $20 billion was
lying with the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) unremitted to the
Federation Account, Minister of Finance,
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has assured that an
audit report into the oil money will be out
soon.
According to the minister, “initially it was $48
billion, then $20 billion, but the figure we have
always had is $10.8 billion.
“I am Minister of Finance, if money is missing
… I want to use it for good things for the
country, and that was why when we went to
the Senate we demanded for forensic audit,
the President supported it and asked for it to
be done.
Speaking at the Financial Times Africa
Summit 2014 in London on Monday, Okonjo-
Iweala who is also Coordinating Minister for
the Economy, reiterated that the amount is not
new and that it had been a source of
discussions between the Ministry of Finance
and its the Petroleum Resources counterpart.
The huge attention the issue generated, she
said, led to the appointment of the firm of
PriceWaterHouseCoopers by the Federal
Government to undertake a forensic audit.
“We engaged PwC with the Auditor General
taking the lead. They initially asked for 16
weeks to complete the work, they have spent
11 or 12 weeks so far and they will be done
in a couple of weeks”.
Meanwhile, in the build up to the 2015 general
elections, Okonjo-Iweala wants Nigerians to
show more interest in the ‘how and who
funds’ campaigns to various electoral offices
in the country.
“We all want democracy, but how do you get
it? It involves money.
“If you want accountability and good
governance you must discuss issues relating
to campaign funds.
“People who sponsor campaigns believe they
must get something from the government
when elections are won. These are the real
elephant in the room and we need to deal with
it,” she said.
The issue of campaign funding has been of
huge interest, particularly with the activities of
Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria
(TAN), which has been organising zonal
rallies across the country to drum up support
for re-election of President Goodluck
Jonathan.
TAN is believed to be sponsored by some
moneybags, including friends believed to have
benefitted hugely from the administration.
Such rallies are usually attended by top
government functionaries led by Secretary to
Government of the Federation, Pius Ayim
Pius, serving Ministers and Governors
eulogising the activities of the administration.
Also speaking on the killer Ebola virus
disease (EVD) at the summit, the minister
said Nigeria ought to be commended for
ensuring the index case did not take the
illness out of the country in addition to
containing it.
“Nigeria did a great service by stopping
(Patrick) Sawyer who was Minnesota bound.
Ebola cannot be said to be the real elephant
in the room, as it has been hyped beyond
proportion by the media,” Okonjo-Iweala said.