THE fresh allegation by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, of missing $20 billion crude oil money has continued to generate ripples as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has denied withholding any money due to the Federation Account, describing Mallam Sanusi as a bloody liar and an inconsistent person.
NNPC’s Group Executive Director, Exploration and Production, Mr Abiye Membere, told newsmen in Abuja that the alleged rip-off of the Federation Account was a figment of the CBN governor’s imagination.
Mr. Membere said with the fresh allegation, Sanusi had once again proved to be “consistently inconsistent,” an attitude he said had become the hallmark of the CBN governor.
While calling for caution on the issue, in the interest of the economy and Nigerians at large, the NNPC director said the corporation would soon address all the issues with a view to putting the matter to rest once and for all.
According to him, the figures now being brandished by Sanusi are the same figures he tendered at the joint press briefing addressed in December 2013 by the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, which had in attendance the Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Allison-Madueke; Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr Andrew Yakubu; the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr Jonah Otunla, and Sanusi himself.
“After agreeing with the figure, which he said was a product of extensive reconciliation, Mr Membere said it was surprising that the CBN governor still came out to brandish another figure, despite the fact that there had been no new development since the December joint press briefing.
“Since last year, what we have is $49.8 billion, next is $10.8 billion and now it’s $20 billion. We are taken aback by this demonstration of inconsistency,” said Membere.
He said it was unfortunate that the apex bank, as a parastatal of government, did not get its figures right and failed to cross-check the ones it had before going public with them.
Explaining the facts behind the figures being quoted by Sanusi, Membere said that contrary to the assertion by the CBN governor that the money that accrued to the Federation Account was $65 billion, the actual amount was $67 billion – which he said was reduced to $12 billion and later $10.8 billion after deducting the money remitted to the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) for disbursement to the three tiers of government.
After settling for $10.8 billion as the sum needed to reconcile at the joint press briefing, Membere said Sanusi later recanted and dismissed the reconciliation efforts jointly carried out with the Petroleum Products Price Regulatory Agency (PPPRA).
“The documents were tendered last year December and accepted by all parties. It is worrisome that Sanusi rejected the documents again,” he said.
On the issue of kerosene subsidy, Membere said, like the independent marketers that enjoy subsidy on petrol, NNPC, which is the sole importer of kerosene, is also entitled to subsidy.
He said the corporation had explained that the $10.8 billion was spent to pay for subsidy on kerosene, maintains its five-kilometre pipeline and its strategic reserves of petroleum.
Membere explained that because of oil theft and pipeline vandalism, NNPC had its strategic oil reserves placed in small jetties on the ocean, stressing that in case of any fuel shortfall, these strategic reserves would last the nation for 30 days.
On the issue of handing over documents for the CBN to go through, he said the NNPC and CBN have different responsibilities, and that it is not the responsibility of the corporation to hand over transaction documents to the apex bank.
He said the NNPC buys kerosene at N150 and sells at N40 per litre, wondering where the CBN expects the corporation to get the money to fund kerosene subsidy.
Though the public may be paying above the regulated price for kerosene in other filling stations, Membere said the product is still sold at N50 per litre in all NNPC retail outlets nationwide.
It would be recalled that the CBN governor had in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, which was leaked to the press on December 5, 2013, alleged that the NNPC failed to remit $49.8 billion to the Federation Account – an allegation that stirred controversy in the country’s multi-billion dollar oil and gas industry.
Sanusi said the amount was the part of crude oil sold by the NNPC that was not remitted to the Federation Account between January 2012 and July 2013.
Following the heat generated by the allegation, the Presidency ordered a multi-agency meeting involving the NNPC, the CBN, Federal Ministry of Finance and the Federal Inland Revenue Service to harmonise their accounts over the alleged unremitted $49.8 billion.
A press briefing addressed by the Minister of Finance was subsequently addressed where the results of reconciliation efforts showed that only $10.8 billion, out of the initial money, was yet to be accounted for.
However, the story changed last Tuesday when Sanusi appeared before the Senate Committee on Finance investigating the alleged missing $49.8 billion in Abuja.
He insisted that NNPC was yet to remit $20 billion to the nation’s account in the apex bank, and that the unremitted $20 billion was part of $67 billion oil proceeds between January 2012 and July 2013.