Over a year ago, Nigeria’s former central bank governor, now Emir, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi raised an alert on the alleged missing of billions of dollars in oil revenue. By February, the figure was reconciled at $20 billion. We then began to ask, #WhereIsOurMoney? The CBN governor explained that within the space of 18 months (only one-and-a-half years) examined, $20 billion was found not remitted by the national petroleum company, NNPC, into the federal treasury.
The breakdown of the missing revenue included $6million looted daily via the kerosene subsidy scam run by oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke. Kerosene supposedly subsidised to be sold at a rate of N40.9/litre, sold at pumps at an average of N156/litre to Nigerian families, with the Diezani-oil cabal looting N100+/litre through her handful of portfolio middle-men marketers. With over 10 million litres kerosene sold per day, $6-plus million is looted from the masses this way every day, totaling another $4billion for the 18 months reviewed.
A forensic audit was ordered by the Jonathan government. The summary report (the full report has never been released) showed that $1.48 billion was confirmed missing for the 18 month period evaluated. In the news today, NNPC has refused to refund this 1.5 billion dollars. The last 4-plus years of Jonathan’s administration are yet to be audited.
According to Leadership, “PriceWaterHouse Coopers (PwC) determined that $3.38 billion relating to DPK subsidy cost was incurred by the NNPC for the review period. PwC confirmed that there was indeed a Presidential directive issued on the 15th of June 2009 instructing that subsidy on DPK be stopped and that there was a correspondence between PPPRA and the CBN governor to the effect that ‘PPPRA had ceased granting subsidy on kerosene since the Presidential directive of 15 June 2009, but kerosene subsidy was appropriated for in the 2012 and 2013 FGN budgets.’”
From the above we see evidence of at least $5.5 billion dollars missing from the NNPC in 18 months. The Jonathan government has been in power for almost 6 years. At this rate of unaccounted for billions, no less than $22 billion is ‘missing’ or ‘unaccounted for’, in the words of Senate president David Mark, from open NNPC processes only.
This calculation is just one of several on the different channels of revenue looting, before, during and after crude oil is sold, with no less than $130 billion being looted by the Jonathan-led cabal in the last 6 years and over $600 billion by the enmeshed devilish elite cabal since independence.
This is big money. Really big money. This type of money could change the lives of all Nigerians at home and abroad, and indeed could change the lives of all Africans.
So before President Jonathan leaves next month, on behalf of the good people of Nigeria, the 100 million desolate folk, the sick, dying and dead, we ask: dear President Jonathan, #WhereIsOurMoney?
Dr. Peregrino Brimah is available at drbrimah@ends.ng, and Twitter: @EveryNigerian.
