by ‘Jola Sotubo

Despite recent assertions that only $10.8 billion in oil funds was unaccounted for, the Governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has said that the figure is actually $20 billion.

The CBN governor disclosed this to members of the Senate Committee on Finance at the National Assembly.

He said:

 “It is established that of the $67 billion crude shipped by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) between January 2012 and July 2013, $47 billion was remitted to the Federation Account.”

“It is now up to NNPC, given all the issues raised, to produce the proof that the $20billion unremitted either did not belong to the Federation or was legally and constitutionally spent”

The Nation reports:

Sanusi insisted that “there is no dispute that $20 billion out of $67 billion has not been paid into any account with the CBN.”

Speaking on the supposed inter-agency reconciliation between the ministries of Finance and Petroleum Resources, NNPC, CBN, FIRS, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and others, Sanusi said the NNPC admitted that it lifted $67 billion worth of crude between January 2012 and July 2013. Of this amount, all agreed that the following amounts had been remitted to the Federation Account: “$14 billion as equity crude and $15 billion as payment to FIRS by International Oil Companies (IOCs).

“They paid in crude, which was lifted by NNPC on behalf of FIRS. There was nothing in our records linking the two transactions; $2 billion Royalty payment to DPR by IOCs under similar arrangements as in (2) above and $16 billion out of the N428 billion taken as Domestic Crude Paid in Naira, not dollar,” Sanusi said.

“The outstanding $20 billion the whereabouts of which needs to be proven by NNPC include: $12 billion out of domestic crude sales yet to be remitted. NNPC has already disclosed N180 billion as subsidy payment in the first quarter of. 2012. If PPPRA confirms this number, we will adjust the balance accordingly. As for the balance of $10.8 billion, NNPC has publicly disclosed that 80 per cent applied to petrol and kerosene subsidy.

This explanation, Sanusi said, is “not tenable and the NNPC needs to provide the proof. The $6 billion shipped on behalf of NNPC belongs to the Federation Account and the need to investigate and audit the Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAAs) to recover amounts unconstitutionally diverted and $2 billion “third-party” financing” “we have not been given any documents explaining or proving this along with other claims around pipeline repairs, maintenance, strategic reserves etc. There was no appropriation for these expenses and NNPC also needs to substantiate them,” Sanusi said.

Any serious investigation into these matters, Sanusi said, “will require an audit of NNPC’s database, which it is statutorily required to keep, based on subsidy guidelines. Only verification of the legitimacy of these claims can form the basis for a true reconciliation.”