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An Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives probing recovered looted funds and assets on Wednesday resolved to re-invite the Attorney-General of the Federation Mr Abubakar Malami SAN over allegations that his office took over the investigation of missing $60bn belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC from the Special Presidential Panel on Recovery of Public Properties without providing any further clue to its findings to citizens.
Chairman of the House probe panel Hon. Ade Adeogun and members took the decision following the revelation at the investigative hearing by the Presidential probe panel that the AGF whose office took custody of the properties and assets recovered by the panel after its Chairman Barr. Obono Obla alleged to ‘ve forged his credentials was sacked by the President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
At the third sitting of the House Ad-hoc Committee in which the Presidential Panel was invited by the committee, Mr Dosu Ojamu a Special Solictor to the disbanded investigative panel had told the lawmakers that the panel was investigating the missing $60bn belonging to the NNPC stashed away in Texas USA before it was taken over by the Office of Attorney-General.
According to him, the Presidential panel got information through intelligence that the $60bn belonging to the corporation was missing and the panel swung into action working assiduously towards its recovery before the sack of its chairman.
He had told the panel that in August, 2019, the chairman of the probe panel was suspended and subsequently sacked by the President who further directed that the Attorney-General’s office takes over the headship of the Presidential panel including all its recoveries.
He said, “the panel also got intelligence that $60 billion belonging to the NNPC which the panel was about to recover before the Attorney-General took over the panel and the investigation”.
He also hinted that a former Auditor-General of the Federation Mr. Anthony Ayine was invited by the Presidential panel to shed lights on the withdrawal of N10bn from the accounts of the National Health Insurance Scheme NHIS but he had decline the invitation citing the independence of the office of Auditor-General as reason.
Fielding questions from the committee members on the recoveries so far made by the Presidential probe panel before it was disbanded, he said that N523 million was recovered by it from Nexim Bank Ltd.
Some other stolen public funds also said to ‘ve been recovered by the probe panel include $223 million kept in NNPC operation account, N2bn recovered from National Council for Arts and Culture, N24 million from the National Theatre and N4.7bn from Yazi Ltd an oil coy.
Stunned by all these revelations, a member of the probe panel Hon. Sada Soli (Katsina, APC) moved a motion requesting that Presidential panel avails the Ad-hoc Committee all documents relating to the $60bn and all other recoveries.
Chairman of the House Ad-hoc Committee Hon. Adeogun who also approved this request while ruling on it said that the probe panel will not be swayed by the huge figures being reeled out on the probe to conclude its report o. its findings on it.