The National Economic Council (NEC) has set up a committee to investigate
a shortfall of N3.5 trillion in remitting by Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) into the Federation Account since 2012.
This is coming after a briefing by a Director of Funds in the Office of
the Accountant General on the status and management of the Federation
Account, which indicted NNPC of remitting only N4.3 trillion out of its
earnings, estimated at N8.1 trillion within the same period
Briefing State House correspondents after NEC meeting chaired by Vice
President Yemi Osinbajo, Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, who
briefed alongside his counterparts from Kaduna, Zamfara and Akwa Ibom
States, explained that the committee is to look into the missing N3.5
trillion and report back to the council at its next meeting on the
whereabouts of the fund.
Members of the committee, who are to report back to the council on the
23rd of July when the council is to reconvene, are governors of Kaduna,
Nasir Elrufai, Edo, Adams Oshiomhole, Akwa Ibom, Emmanuel Udom and Gombe’s
Ibrahim Dankwabo
Oshiomhole added that the council will also look at the Excess Crude
Account and report back on the rationale to which it would continue
operation or done away with at the next sitting of the council in July.
Another issue that would also be looked into according to the Edo State
governor is the differences between what former Finance Minister, Ngozi
Okonjo Iweala, declared as the balance in the Excess Crude Account and
what this administration met in the account.
Oshiomhole stated that while Okonjo-Iweala, had claimed that the past
administration left 4.1 billion dollars in the account, only 2.0 billion
US dollars was found in it by the owners of the account; the three tiers
of the government.
He stressed that there was the need to look into the account to see who
authorised withdrawals from the account and what had necessitated such
withdrawals.