Following the Inaugural meeting of the National Economic Council (NEC) held at the State House on Monday, members of the council have revealed how they will divide themselves in collaborations with different bodies to recover stolen funds.
The NEC had indicted the Nigerian National Petroleum Commission (NNPC) of failing to remit the sum of N3.8 trillion to country’s treasure claiming it was to be used to run its operations.
Vice President Yemi Osibanjo chaired the meeting.
Gov Abdulaziz Yari Chairman of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) who briefed State House correspondents after the meeting said the federal government use different means to probe and seek the missing funds.
He said: “The 58th NEC‎ received the briefing from the director of funds where the state of the economy has been discussed thoroughly. We have gotten the report from the exceed crude, what is there and what is not there. And also the Council got the briefing ‎on the unremitted funds by NNPC.
“On that line, a four man committee – Edo, Gombe, Kaduna Akwa Ibom – was constituted to go through the books of ‎NNPC and excess crude as well as the federation account.
“The four man committee will check the books of NNPC, most specially the issue of excess crude and what is not remitted into the federation account.
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“The federal government in conjunction with the CBN will look inwards to see how to support how much they will give to state, how much they will give to state especially in the issue of outstanding salaries owed by the states and even the federal government,” he added.
Governor Adams Oshiomole of Edo State claimed that for the first time ever the NNPC and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation were being ordered by a Presidential order to open the books in a transparent manner.
He said: We are talking about transparency, we are talking about change. And what we saw from those numbers ‎I believe that Nigerians are entitled to know, is that whereas the NNPC claimed to have earned N8.1 trillion, what NNPC paid into the federation acount from 2012 to May 2015 was N4.3 trillion. What it means is that NNPC withheld and spent N3.8 trillion.”
Oshiomole added that former Minister of Finance, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala on her last briefing with NEC last November claimed that the excess crube account contained 4.1 billion dollars but the money has now suddenly gone down to 2 billion dollars.
Thirty six state governors, the minister of the Federal Capital Territory and Permanent Secretaries for the key ministries that have something to do with the economy were inaugurated as members of NEC.
President Buhari however, directed that all revenues from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Nigerian Customs Service, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigerian Ports Authority, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety and the Liquefied Natural Gas, among others should be remitted into the Consolidated Revenue fund.