…Calls for EFCC, ICPC involvement
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP), has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari, to “account for and explain the whereabouts of the alleged missing ₦825bn and $2.5bn meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation’ and other oil revenues, as documented in the 2021 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation”.
According to SERAP, the annual report was published on Thursday 27th November, 2024.
SERAP urged Kyari “to identify those suspected to be responsible for the disappeared oil money and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, (ICPC), and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC)”.
SERAP also urged him “to formally invite former president Olusegun Obasanjo to tour Nigeria’s refineries and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC to monitor the operations of the refineries, and any spending on them, including the Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries”.
In the letter, dated 4 January 2025 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “We welcome your timely public invitation to former president Obasanjo ‘to tour the Port-Harcourt and Warri refineries’.
“While your invitation is clearly not ‘disrespectful’, contrary to the claims by the former president, because no one is above the law, we urge you to formally invite him, and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC for the sake of transparency and accountability”.
SERAP also said, “Your public invitation to Obasanjo is well-justified, and entirely consistent with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian 1999 Constitution (as amended), and the country’s international obligations on the obligations of the NNPCL as well as the roles of citizens in preventing and combating grand corruption”.
The organisation noted that according to the recently published 2021 audited report by the Auditor General of the Federation (AuGF), the NNPCL failed to account for over N825 billion and USD$2.5 billion of public funds meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation’ and repairs, and other oil revenues. “The Auditor-General fears that the money may be missing, and may have been diverted” it further stated.
“The Auditor-General is concerned that this practice ‘has led the Federation to resort to borrowings.’ He wants ‘the money recovered and remitted to the Treasury’.
“The Auditor-General is concerned that this ‘may have resulted in difficulty in funding the 2021 Budget.’ He wants ‘the money recovered from the oil companies and remitted to the Federation Account”, said the statement.
