On the February 11, 2014, 30 Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), alarmed like many Nigerians came together to demand that President Goodluck Jonathan act to clarify the situation pertaining to allegations of missing money belonging to the government to the tune of $20 billion.
The position of the CSOs as well as Nigerians in general is that the President as the custodian of the nation’s resources should clear the air on the matter and ensure that the said amount is returned to the coffers of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the nation’s official banker. It should be remembered that since the last quarter of 2013, suspended Governor of Central Bank, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, drew the attention of the nation to the case of missing money which are monies not remitted by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for shipments of crude oil.
Clearly, it amounts to a serious failure of leadership on the part of President Jonathan that such allegations of missing public money should rear its head, not once, but twice. This has not happened in a long time in the country’s history and it is a minus for the present administration which has prided itself as the most achieving of all governments before it. The President is definitely a poor manager of resources and lacks the authority to ensure transparency and probity in his administration. He is also weak in the fight against corruption as attested by the many corruption scandals involving officials of his government on which he failed to take action.
In the case of the unremitted $20, Sanusi alleged that NNPC sold crude oil worth $67 billion and that only $47 billion was paid into the coffers of the apex bank leaving the outstanding $20 billion unpaid. It is curious that no effort was made by the NNPC to pay this amount until Sanusi sounded the alarm, before denies and explanations started to fly about.
Before the matter came to the public domain, Sanusi had written to the President to complain about the missing money and the suspicious behaviour of the NNPC management. Jonathan did nothing and did not compel the NNPC or the Minister of Petroleum Resources to do something about the issue. Such attitude aroused suspicion especially at a time when all tiers of government had been complaining of reduction in government revenue and poor remittances that has impacted negatively on overall solvency of government.
It is important to point out that as the concerned civil society groups inferred at their meeting recently when they called on President Jonathan to act and ensure that the money is recovered from wherever it was kept, without the acquiescence of the Commander- in- Chief, such a grave should have prompted the President to institute an investigation which would have meant that the Minister of Petroleum Resources, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC and his top officials temporarily vacate their offices to allow a transparent scrutiny of the accounts of the NNPC.
Therefore, if the present administration has nothing to hide, if it’s not party to withholding the nation’s revenue for its own purpose (crucial elections which the PDP is determined to win at any cost is coming in 2015) it is expected that a transparent government which abhors corruption would have seized the opportunity provided by Dr. Sanusi’s claims, to look into the dealings in the NNPC at least for the sake of posterity and for its own image.
It is important to note that at last the NNPC has admitted that the alleged missing amount was not remitted but that it consists of charges and taxes and sundry payments. The corporation and the Minister of Finance have abandoned their previous position that only $10.8 billion need to be reconciled or accounted for by them and of course by the Commander- in- Chief at whose instance they are in office.
And the reason for the degeneration was because the man who should act, and promptly to defend the national interest, President Jonathan, failed for inexplicable reasons to take action the first time that a vigilant and patriotic Central Bank governor wrote him personally to intimate him of his fears and the need for executive intervention.
The explanation by the NNPC management and its associated that some of the missing funds belonged to a sister company which is under the management of private operators, to many Nigerians is an after- thought and unconvincing. The present administration has not shown enough sense of responsibility to protect the national interest and fight corruption.
It is the view of many Nigerians that while indeed the Jonathan administration has some good achievements and efforts in its favour, its tardiness in standing against corruption, its nepotism and the burgeoning cronyism under its watch, is a crippling minus. The nation would be severely imperilled if it were to return to power; a possibility which most Nigerians are not prepared for but which this unpatriotic government would do anything to achieve.
Alhassan wrote from Maitama, Abuja
