Sanusi Alleges Massive Corruption In Nigeria …NNPC Tackles Emir On $20bn Claims

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has condemned the latest claims of the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and the current Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, that the issues surrounding the missing $20bn oil money have not been adequately addressed by the Federal Government.
Sanusi II, had alleged that massive corruption was still being perpetrated by President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration and  restated his earlier disclosure that $20 billion was missing from the account of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
Sanusi, who disclosed this in an interview by Christine Amanpour on CNN, maintained that the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd.), was right on the level of corruption in the country stating that the level of corruption in the country was massive and needed to be addressed sufficiently.
According to the monarch, “General Buhari is right on the level of corruption in the country and we need to address this sufficiently. We have not helped the situation by living in denial (that the situation does not exist). I don’t want to dwell on this because of the time that we are and we are close to an election.”
While maintaining that about $20 billion was missing from the account of the NNPC, which was not remitted to the Federation Account, Sanusi said: “This has not been addressed adequately and from the account of the corporation, about $20 billion was not remitted to the federation account. We need to address this.”
The Emir further called on other northern leaders to rise up and speak against the activities of the terror group, Boko Haram, saying he was not afraid to die as a result of his opposition to the sect.
“I have achieved everything that I could achieve. So, what is there to be afraid of?” he asked.
Reacting to the claim, in a statement yesterday the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, the oil firm stated that Sanusi had got it wrong again.
He said one of the issues raised by Sanusi was the billions of dollars being paid in kerosene subsidies, stressing that after exhaustive deliberations and investigations, the Senate Committee on Finance in a report recommended that the Executive should prepare and present to the National Assembly a supplementary budget.
The budget, according to the corporation was “to cover the expenditure in the sum of N90.6bn for premium motor spirit subsidy in 2012 and N685.9bn for kerosene subsidy expended without appropriation by the National Assembly”
It said Price water house Coopers also observed in its recent forensic audit report that “regarding the issue of subsidy on kerosene, the Presidential Directive of 19 October, 2009, was not gazetted and there is no other legal instrument cancelling the subsidy on DPK. The Senate Committee had also concluded that all that was now required was for the FGN to propose appropriation for the unappropriated subsidy for the period in a supplemental budget.”
The statement further noted that the corporation was “therefore at a loss as to what Sanusi II meant by his statement that issues surrounding his allegation of unremitted $20bn, especially regarding kerosene subsidy, have not been adequately addressed.”

APC National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed (left),and Chairman, Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, Dr Sam Amadi, at the Nigerian Political Parties Debate in Abuja, yesterday