The last may not have been heard of the $20 billion “missing” oil money.
“The new administration will take a look at it,” President-elect Muhammadu Buhari said yesterday.
Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, alleged that
the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit $20
billion to the federation account, but a committee, which investigated
the issue, claimed that about $10 billion was unremitted.
Accounting
giant PricewaterhouseCoopers was brought in. It said only $1 billion was
unaccounted for. Details of its report are yet to be made public.
But Petroleum Minister Diezani
Alison-Madueke has said the money, which was transferred by NNPC to the
Nigeria Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC), was being sent to the
treasury. This is not likely to be the end of the controversial matter, going by Buhari’s view.
Speaking while receiving a delegation
from Adamawa State led by the governor-elect, Senator Jibrila Bindow, at
the Presidential Campaign Office in Abuja, Buhari also said that it was
unfortunate that the PDP government had practically destroyed the armed
forces.
He reiterated his earlier pledge to
fight corruption and restore the confidence of Nigerians in the economy
while taking practical steps to create employment for the youths. Buhari, who is scheduled to take office
on May 29, said: “I heard that some people have started returning money;
I will not believe it until I go and see for myself.
You all know what
the Emir of Kano talked about when he was the governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria when he said $20billion, not naira, $20 billion was
unaccounted for; they said it was a lie. Instead of investigating it,
they sacked him. “And God in His infinite mercy made him
the Emir of Kano. In any case, that is what he wanted and since this was
documented, the new administration will take a look at it.”
Gen. Buhari, who decried the level of
destruction inflicted on the nation by the Boko Haram insurgency, said:
“I thank God for your visit. From what he (leader of delegation) has
said on this problem of Boko Haram, we thank God it is now evident that
this is not a religious problem, but purely terrorism. I said it
earlier, all the religions we practice, both Islam and Christianity, do
not support terrorism.
“So, to go and kill people either in the
mosque or in a church, market, motor park or to go and slaughter
children in school, anyone who commits such a crime either does not know
what Allahu Akbar (God is great) means or does not believe in it. This is terrorism. It is our hope that God gives us the power to end this.”
Buhari spoke also on jobs, describing
unemployment as Nigeria’s biggest problem. He said: “I went to 35 out of
the 36 states of the federation. I went to some states about six times.
I went for town hall meetings in Kano, Lagos and here in Abuja.
I met
with religious leaders in churches of all denominations. “From the airports to the streets, we
saw youths running after our vehicles, sweating; some walking the whole
distance to wherever we were driving to. Whether they went to school or
did not go to school, they don’t have jobs.
“This is the biggest problem we have in
Nigeria today. Apart from security challenges, the next thing is to find
jobs for our youths. Our youths form 60 percent of our population in
Nigeria and without jobs, these people who are still bubbling with
energy will constitute a danger for this nation. If our youths don’t get
jobs, we will not enjoy our stay in this nation.
“But one of the things we can do for you
to fight poverty in Adamawa is the abundance of arable land that you
have. Where I come from (Katsina State), the Sahara (desert) has eaten
into the land and our populace who were not opportune to get formal
education became private guards because there is no more land to farm.
“But for you in Adamawa, you are blessed
with land and water for agriculture. The 16 years of the PDP has
further impoverished the people. It was the PDP, not the APP, not the
CPC, not the APC because of that, within the next four years, we will do
our best.
”The three things we in the APC will
give priority to are the issues of security, the economy and the war
against corruption. These are three things that affect all the states in
Nigeria. “We hope that like I have been hearing
over the radio that we have regained most of the territories captured by
Boko Haram; we thank God. But, among the worst atrocities committed
against Nigeria by the PDP is what it has done to our military.
“It is our military that went to Barma;
the same army that when I was commissioned second lieutenant, I did not
spend three weeks before I found myself in Kinshasa (in Congo), then
(the civil war) in Nigeria, Sierra Leone. “Then to say Nigerian soldiers failed to
retake 14 local government areas out of 774, for me who served in the
military, I find it incomprehensible, except if I go there to find out
what is the reason for this.
The kind of leadership brought upon us by
the PDP, whether it is documented or not, it can never be forgotten in
our history. “Because of the (Boko Haram crisis) some
of our fellow Nigerians from the Northeast don’t know where their
parents are; some don’t know where their children are; their houses have
been burnt, their cities, like Bama, Michika, Mubi, Madagali and the
rest of them. “Some have built houses outside and when trouble starts they don’t even bother to carry their bags; they take a ride on Achaba (commercial motorcycle) and they flee Nigeria and leave us with the crisis. God help us.
“I hope those of you who have been
elected as members of the legislature: the Senate and the House of
Representatives at the Federal and state levels, you will work with us.
“I urge you to be patient and ensure
that anything that will benefit our nation receives your support. We
will try our possible best and ensure that we repair hospitals, schools,
roads and ensure that we get drugs in our hospitals, books and other
equipment.”
Bindow urged Buhari to help build
institutions, such as health and education. Besides, said Bindow, Buhari
should fight corruption.
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