Sanusi lied about $49.8bn missing money – Senate committee

The Senate Committee on Finance on Wednesday described as untrue allegations by the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, that $49.8bn was missing from the Federation Account.

The committee, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, which submitted its report also said the total crude oil lifting from January 2012 to July 2013 was $67bn and not $65bn as claimed by Sanusi.

Sanusi had written President Goodluck Jonathan alleging that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation had failed to remit $49.8bn, being part of the income it generated from the sale of crude oil to the Federation Account.

But the committee stated that all the agencies, which made presentations to it, agreed after reconciliation that $47bn out of the $67bn had been credited to the Federation Account, leaving only $20bn yet to be accounted for.

It added that the $5.254bn spent on subsidy for Premium Motor Spirit by the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory Agency, which was part of the $20bn, was covered by the Appropriation Acts of 2012 and 2013.

It, however, said that $3.512bn for kerosene subsidy certified by PPPRA for the period January 2012 to July 2013 was not appropriated for by the National Assembly.

The committee, therefore, asked the management of the NNPC to refund $262m to the Federation Account, being the expenses it could not satisfactorily defend during the just concluded probe of the alleged missing $49.8bn.

It also asked the corporation to remit the balance of $218m out of the $2.4bn third party financing, out of which the share of the Federation Account was $1.58bn.

It also recommended the complete stoppage of the subsidy regime in the country.

The $262m, which the NNPC was asked to refund, was in respect of holding strategic stock reserve, pipeline maintenance and management cost, and capital expenditure.