Sanusi lied over alleged $20bn missing funds – Senate

• Lawmakers: Fuel subsidy must go
Finally, after months of intense and forensic investigation of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Senate Committee on Finance said suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, lied over an alleged $20 billion missing oil funds.
The Senate committee specifically declared on Page 59 of its 73-page report that “there was never any unremitted $49.8 billion,” and noted that “the total crude oil liftings from January 2012 to July 2013 was $67 billion and not $65 billion as the CBN governor had presented.”
The Senator Ahmed Makarfi-led committee, in its report on the investigation, which was submitted to the Senate at yesterday’s plenary, said: “The committee could not see how the figure of $49.8 billion was arrived at by the CBN governor in the first instance. That the CBN governor at the first hearing had forwarded the figure of $12 billion as monies to be reconciled and changed his position to $20 billion at subsequent hearing.
“At the conclusion of his written submission, he (Sanusi) posited that it could be $20 billion, $12 billion, $10.8 billion or anything in between. The CBN governor orally or in writing never outrightly submitted that monies were missing, but that monies were not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC…”
The committee has also recommended that the Federal Government scrap the subsidy regime and that all stakeholders should be carried along before abolishing the scheme. “There is the need for the subsidy regime to be totally discontinued with,” it emphasised. The report also noted that the NNPC should remit $927,887,238 (N148, 461, 958, 141.20).
The six-page recommendation states:
• Gross liftings under the Third Party Financing was $2,430,750, 973 out of which share for the Federation Account was as $1,588,242,004. The AGF (Auditor-General of the Federation) confirmed and gave documentary evidence showing $1,370,172,650.36 was remitted to the Federation Account. Therefore, the NNPC should remit the balance of $218,069,354.32 to the Federation Account;
• NNPC to refund and remit to the Federation Account, $262 million being expenses it could not satisfactorily defend of Holding Strategic Stock Reserve; Pipeline Maintenance and Management Cost and Capital Expenditure,;and
• Royalties and taxes amounting to $447,817,884 being outstanding Federation Account share from the US $6.815 billion listings by NNPC on behalf of NPDC remains unremitted.
“NNPC should not control the revenue account of NPDC in order not to undermine its separate legal status and make accountability more difficult.
“Average number of days taken to discharge a vessel load of 33 and a half days as against expected one and a half days resulting in $207.8 million demurrage…”
The committee also recommended that President Goodluck Jonathan should prepare and present to the National Assembly, a supplementary budget to cover the over-expenditure in the sun of N90.693 billion for PMS subsidy for 2012 and the sum of N685.910 billion for kerosene subsidy expended without appropriation by the National Assembly in 2012 and 2013.
The committee also recommended that the National Assembly should expeditiously pass the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) in the 73-page report.