Ripples Nigeria
Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana has urged the Federal Government to ensure due diligence regarding an inquest into the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over unremitted money between 2010 and 2014 and another N94 trillion oil money held by oil operators.
Falana made this call on Thursday, in Abuja at a lecture in honour of Prof Omotoye Olorode.
The lawyer stated that his firm has written to President Muhammadu Buhari about how government can recover the N94 trillion.
The assertion by the NNPC that there was no money to remit into the federation account next month is tantamount to blackmail, Falana pointed out.
Falana said: “The Auditor-General of the Federation has revealed that between 2010 and 2014, $16 billion worth of crude oil was not accounted for by the NNPC.
“Also, the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Commission and NEITI have come out to say that the NNPC has failed to remit to the federation account, about $22 billion dividends paid by the NLNG.
“The NNPC has not, up to this moment, denied any of these serious allegations. So, if they say there is no money now, it is meant to blackmail Nigerians that the Corporation won’t remit money because it is paying for subsidy.
“Federal and state governments would then move to stop subsidy so they can have money to pay salaries, allowances and pension etc. But Nigerians must tell the government that there are alternative sources.
“We have written to the President about how government can recover N94 trillion. We are going to insist now that recovering this money is the way to go.”
This news originally appeared in Ripples Nigeria.
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