The House of Representatives, Public Accounts Committee, PAC, yesterday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Ministry of Finance to lay before it the said “forensic audit” report on an alleged missing $20 billion.
Former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, had alleged last year, before he was sacked, that the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, withheld over $20 billion due to the federation account in line with section 162 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
A motion was raised and passed more than a week ago requesting the Finance Minister to lay the report, but the House Committee headed by Solomon Adeola Olamilekan (APC-Lagos) said the request was yet to be heeded, hence the ultimatum issued by the committee. The committee while issuing the ultimatum stressed that the lawmakers were empowered by section 85 of the Constitution to hold all agencies of government accountable.
“The Public Accounts Committee cognizant of the provisions of the constitution and empowered by the Resolution of the House of Representatives on a motion moved by the Minority Leader, Femi Gbajabiamila, hereby request that the full report on the Forensic Audit by PWC, which must include the initial Draft Report, the Executive Summary, Management/Internal Control Letters, should be forwarded to the National Assembly not later than one week from today.”
The committee regretted the opacity with which the Presidency was handling the allegations by the erstwhile Central Bank Governor, Sanusi.
“It took quite a while and public outcry for snippets of the report to surface, albeit in the press. Mr. President was reported to have directed the Auditor General to study, analyse and release the report to the press. A highly condensed version of the report was eventually released as directed, by the Auditor General to the press with the highlight that the NNPC must remit a minimum of $1.48 billion into the Federation Account.”
