My Thoughts On NNPC And The Missing $20 billion.

NNPC have overtime been described as the four tower of corruption, the house of corruption and it stinks and Nigerians and her government must do so much to clean up that house, NNPC. The CBN governor have been firing, maybe the right step and maybe in the wrong direction because so many have attributed his actions to one with political motives, for me whoever raises issues of accountability and transparency must and should be investigated to the later. The power conferred on the CBN governor by the amendment of the CBN act, which provides that the governor can not be sacked by the president, I wish the same power can be extended to the Inspector General of Police, EFCC, and ICPC chairman to enable this agencies carryout their responsibilities without any fear of been victimized at every turn.

Can NNPC ever be probed? Can we ever have a comprehensive audit of NNPC? Where is the transparencies in CBN security vote? These questions will keep revolving around our heads for generations unless we begin to seek answers. NNPC will be happy that it is a thief that wants to apprehend a thief. If we must take a strong broom to sweep NNPC’s floor, I don’t see anything wrong in taking the same broom to the CBN. The new revelation by the CBN governor raising the bar of the figure to over $20 billion is the one that NNPC is still battling to quickly correct. The testimony by NNPC officials shows that they have little or nothing to convince Nigerians that so many water are not passing under the bridge, but Sanusi, a very top CBN official – one who is superintending over monetary regulation at the CBN ought to also know how to get Nigerians know all he knows about the looting in NNPC and FG rather than throwing them up and getting everyone confused probably will not solve the problem. But Sanusi said that he’s raising the alarm so that Nigerians will ask the necessary questions and that the alarm he raised is not to tear apart NNPC or the FG instead that he has asked the questions but not getting answers, can somebody ask the NNPC about these missing funds?

The last time NNPC came up with answers, they said that it is $10.8 billion and that $8 billion was used to pay subsidy on kerosene, when we know it is PPPRA that pays subsidy, but NNPC decided they should on their own pay subsidy and $10 billion was used to effect repairs on the pipeline –flimsy excuses at best. The allegation against the NNPC, not just from CBN, over the past 2 years, international organizations, even those within the country. You did recall during the late Yar’ Adua era, the audit file of NNPC was presented to the President, it was said that the President opened his mouth for a very long time in amazement. Nigerians have thought overtime that the situations will improve instead it keeps deteriorating.

NNPC over the years have not demonstrated accountability and transparency both in the explanation they present us with today, and in their overall conduct. Though, I am not one to be quick in judging them because Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, if it were to be in a court will not make a good witness to anybody because when you have to move from $49 billion, then $10.8 billion and then $20 billion, that automatically cast doubt on the evidence, enough for whoever that invited you to lose the case. But we must not lose the needs based on the incompetence displayed by the CBN governor in the past, it is expected that when the number one banker in Nigeria says it’s N10 it will remain N10, if there is any reason he says there was an error and that he did not add A and B together, it will be expected that he has done his due diligence but a situation he moves from one figure to another and yet to another, makes his issues very watery. But we must not dwell on the watery part of th evidence he’s putting forward. The NNPC needs to offer reasonable explanation to Nigerians on the account of these funds –because their explanation is far from being convincing even to a toddler.

On the account of Sanusi’s summation some have said that the CBN governor’s integrity is under question because of the many side of the mouth he speaks from at the time. However, I stand to disagree with such assertion, because most Nigerians have been used to leaders who will never come out to admit to a mistake and Sanusi should not crucified for attempting for showing bravery of honesty. The NNPC have not given Nigerians the room to have some level of confidence in them, if at all there was ever a time such opportunity was on the table for Nigerians. NNPC cupboard is so filled with skeleton that the officials have absolutely nothing tangible to tell Nigerians, however, Nigerians demand explanation and explanations they must get from NNPC and Federal Government. There will be no carpet this time and definitely no sweeping for such a matter to die down without recovery of tax payers $20 billion.