Three years after the $43 million scandal that led to the sacking of Ayodele Oke as the director-general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), facts emerged Friday that the money found in the Ikoyi swanky apartment of the former NIA boss by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) was a fraction of $289 million cash collected by the DG from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC).
The financial director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mr. Godwin Okonkwo, revealed this to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts.
According to him, the $289 million given to the former NIA boss by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) was based on directive to that effect from NNPC.
The Presidency, he said, gave approval for payment of the said amount to NIA on February 16, 2015 which was however carried out by the CBN on February 24, 2015 to the former DG and not the agency.
“Yes, we complied with the request. It is not true that we said the money should be paid to the Director – General but to the NIA as an institution.
“I’m not defending NIA for requesting for the money to be paid in cash but considering the circumstances, which is for security purposes.
“NNPC obliged because we are not in charge of security. If they request for payment in cash and they said it is for security, and that it must be transferred through electronic means to a particular account, NNPC cannot say no because If anything happens afterwards, NNPC will be held responsible,” he said.
However, the chairman of the Committee, Mathew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South), said there was no any documents before the Committee indicating that directives for release of the said money was issued from the Presidency.
He said, “Available documents from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation and even those from the NNPC did not indicate that any directive to that effect was given by the Presidency.
“The documents before us show that $289 million was released by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from Niger Delta Security Votes in the CBN to NIA DG in February 2015 and in cash which is against extant laws.”
He agreed with the submission of the Auditor – General for the Federation in his audit query that there was no way the then President Goodluck Jonathan would have directed the NNPC to pay $289 million in cash to the then NIA boss.
