Senate, Reps probe $49.8bn ‘missing’ funds, oil theft

The two chambers of the National Assembly on
Wednesday commenced separate probes into the alleged
non-remittance of $49.8bn into the Federation Account by
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The Senate asked its Committee on Finance to conclude its
investigations and submit a report within one week.
Similarly, the House of Representatives opened an
investigation into the rising theft of the country’s crude oil
and warned the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs.
Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the NNPC about the
consequences of ignoring summons by its Ad hoc
Committee on Oil Theft.
The minister, the NNPC and its subsidiaries are among 50
agencies and individuals the ad hoc committee of the
House conducting the investigation said it had summoned
to answer questions on the matter.
The Senate’s action was taken following a point of order
raised under matter of urgent importance by Senator
Olubunmi Adetunmbi, who cited Order 42 and drew the
attention of his colleagues to the allegation of non-
remittance of the sum/diversion raised against the NNPC
by the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido
Sanusi, in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan.
Adetunmbi also requested the Senate to carry out an in-
depth probe into the missing fund for the period of
January 2012 to July 2013.
The money was meant to be lodged in the CBN, but Sanusi
said the amount was not in the bank’s coffers.
Adetunmbi said, “There has been a raging debate on the
issue of missing money from the coffers of the Federal
Government of Nigeria.
“Today (Wednesday), all papers carried the report of
$49.8bn that has not been remitted to the Federation
Account.”
He, therefore, urged the Senate to carry out “a holistic
investigation into the matter.”
He said, “The parliament owes a duty or responsibility to
the public to ensure that we get to the root of this issue
for the purposes of public information and the integrity of
this parliament.
“This is necessary because appropriation and revenue are
the major responsibilities of this parliament.”
The President of the Senate, David Mark, who presided
over the session, said the matter could not be treated
immediately on the floor because there was no detailed
information before the Senate yet.
He also said the allegation, which Adetunmbi was relying
upon, “was a newspaper report.”
Mark said he had earlier in a meeting with the senator
promised that the Senate Committee on Finance would
handle the matter.
He said, “You have come under Order 42, you know what
you showed to me was a newspaper report and I also told
you that on the basis of that, since you don’t have all the
details, that I will refer it to the committee and the
committee will get all the details and bring its report here.
“You know that was my discussion with you. So, this new
dimension of a letter coming from the central bank was
not discussed with me. But whatever it is, I think because
we don’t have the details at this point, we cannot go into
any further detailed discussion.”
The position of Mark was, however, not supported by
senators on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.
The APC senators suggested that rather than the
committee on finance handling the issue, it should be
directed to the Senate Committee on Public Account.
However, Mark maintained his position, saying, “Please,
there is no expenditure involved yet. This is money that
we have not found, so there is no public account yet. The
public account will come in when the money is spent. But
whatever it is, please lay it on the table before we see who
values it.”

He, thereafter, directed the Deputy Chairman, Senate
Committee on Finance, Joshua Dariye, to ensure that the
report was ready within a week.
But the APC senators warned that the allegation must not
be swept under the carpet.
They told journalists after the plenary that they would
ensure that they followed the probe to a logical
conclusion.
Led by the Senate Minority Leader, George Akume, the
APC senators said at a news conference that there was no
cause to doubt the authenticity of the allegation of the
missing fund.
Akume said, “The report came from a very authentic
source. We have been told and we have every cause to
believe that this money is missing. This document is
coming from the Central Bank of Nigeria. It is an authentic
source. This matter cannot be swept under the carpet. We
are determined to follow it to the fullest.
“One of our responsibilities is to as much as possible
identify with the people by ensuring that those of us who
are charged with higher responsibilities conform with very
high standards expected of people in public office.
“We have invited you (Alison-Madueke and NNPC
management) on an issue that is very grave and central to
good governance in our country. You are already aware of
the missing $49bn. Now, this money is the value of crude
oil export and proceeds from the NNPC.
“Section 162 (of the constitution) is very clear on where
federally collected revenues are supposed to be lodged.
We have every cause to believe that this money is missing.
This document here is from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
This is a very authentic source. It is a very authentic
document. The issue is who actually authorised the
lodging of this money elsewhere?
“If at all the money is not missing, then who gave the
authorisation for the opening of this account where the
money is paid contrary to section 162 of the Constitution
of the Federal Republic of Nigeria?”
The Chairman of the House Ad Hoc Committee on Oil
Theft, Mr. Bahsir Adamu, told journalists that the
committee would not condone any act of disrespect by
any agency, particularly the NNPC.
“We are very serious with this investigation. We won’t
hesitate to compel the NNPC or any agency that tries to
take us for a ride. I am not prepared to allow anybody to
rubbish my 15 years of experience in this House,” Adamu
said.
He observed that illegal oil bunkering was a technical
operation that would not succeed without the
collaboration of highly-placed persons in and out of
government.
According to him, the aim of the committee is to unmask
the faces behind crude oil theft in order to save the
country from the loss of billions of dollars daily.
Adamu said, “The level of oil theft is alarming and of grave
concern to stakeholders. The oil and gas industry accounts
for about two-third of government’s revenue and more
than 90 per cent of export earnings in Nigeria.
“Illegal bunkering has caused Nigeria to lose an estimated
$5bn (N780bn) yearly, amounting to $400bn since
Nigeria’s independence.

“Statistics show that 350,000 barrels per day were lost to
illegal bunkering in 2012, representing an increase of 45
per cent over the figure of 2011, and 67 per cent over that
of 2010, while the trend for 2013 is even more alarming.
“Unless the government summons the will to fight the
menace, the situation will worsen the country’s economic
woes.
“The rising level of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism,
particularly in the Niger Delta region, has reached and
assumed higher dimensions.
“The ugly development has made operators in the
Nigerian oil and gas industry one of the most expensive in
the world.”
On the scope of the investigation, Adamu said it would
determine how deep pipelines were buried and if they
were accessible to thieves; and determine how stolen
crude oil was being transported.
The Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, said the
chamber had the responsibility to expose the oil thieves
and “make people pay for their crime.”
Meanwhile, the House, in a separate resolution, directed
its Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) to
investigate the Federal Government’s plan to sell the
country’s four refineries and report back within two
weeks.