Skip to main content

NEC, NNPC AND PROBES

By



By Iyke Durumba

Trending in the last couple of days is the news that the newly-inaugurated National Economic Council has raised questions about the disappearance of $2.1bn from the Excess Crude Account and the illegal withholding of about N3.8tr due the Federation by NNPC. It was said the NEC mandated Govs Oshiomhole, El-Rufai, Dankambo and Emmanuel Udom to investigate the shortfalls.

First, I don't think there's any living Nigerian (apart from possible culprits) who will object to a probe and possible recovery of missing funds. We can only have 24/7 electricity, good roads, jobs etc if the govt has money to invest. If it's all been stolen, no deuce, we'll keep suffering.

May I just make a few observations:

1) It's in very bad taste and an indication of a dubious intention to have an Oshiomhole on that probe panel. This is a man who in several public pronouncements has already made up his mind as to the conclusions. He's already badly prejudiced and will only work towards the answer. His presence on that 4-man panel already bitterly pollutes the outcomes.

2) The function of the National Economic Council is PURELY advisory. Please see Part 1 of the Third Schedule established by
S. 153 of the 1999 Constitution.
So, pray, where did they get this investigative power Oshiomhole is so loud about? Since there's an obvious need for verification of facts that may lead to criminal liability, why use NEC? Why use politicians who have an axe to grind? Why not the security agencies?

3) Where is the FAAC in all this? The FAAC which comprises state commissioners of finance etc is the point at which all monies (including Federation Account, Excess Crude Account etc) are shared among the federating units of Nigeria. If any monies from any of those accounts was shared at all, they'd know about it.

4) As they probe, I hope they'll take cognizance of and enlighten Nigerians on some strange but extant provisions of the NNPC Act like:

Chapter 320 Part I, 7(4) of NNPC Act 1977

"The Corporation shall maintain a fund which shall consist of -
(a) such moneys as may from time to time be provided by the FG for the purposes of this Act by way of grants or loans or otherwise howsoever; and

(b) such moneys as may be received by the Corporation in the course of its operations or in relation to the exercise by the Corporation of any of its functions under this Act and from such fund there shall be defrayed all expenses incurred by the Corporation"

That last little bit "..and from such fund there shall be defrayed all expenses incurred by the Corporation", shows how much of a Gordian Knot it may be to track expenditure in that godless Corporation. It also exposes the inherent perversion in the minds of the drafters of that Decree.

4) Is this present missing N3.8tr somehow the same as Sanusi's missing $20bn? What's the relation between the two sums seeing as they're both unremitted sums from the same NNPC? What role will the PWC report play in this NEC probe?

5) Obviously, that NNPC Act which several govts has used since 1977 desperately needs to be extensively overhauled for transparency as part of Buhari's agenda of reform.

6) However, in order to determine where this rain began to beat us in NNPC and as a point of reflection, guess who was Head of State in 1977 when that NNPC Decree was promulgated? And guess who was Minister of Petroleum?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

BUCCANEERS WARNS PYRATE CONFRATERNITY, THREATENED A SHOWDOWN

By
BUCCANEERS WARNS PYRATES CONFRATERNITY It's no news that the pyrates confraternity has been throwing shots at the buccaneers confraternity on media at any given opportunity.The last was at Professor Wole Soyinka's 80th Birthday when the capone of pyrates confraternity was interviewed on Am express in his speech he labeled the Buccaneers confraternity as a (Secret Cult). But the buccaneers have said "Enough Is A Enough!" And wrote an open letter to the pyrate confraternity and the general public stating their cause and what the buccaneers confraternity stands for. This piece was written by:  Barrister Femi Osibanjo Grand Eye Buccaneer Confraternity Read Piece below: Dear All, It has become necessary to address you once again. This Brotherhood is a private membership only Association or Friendly Society, which does not seek to compete with any organization, Fraternity, Sorority or Club. For this reason, we will not seek to respond to any...
1 comment
Read more

AKWA IBOM CHILD RIGHTS LAW

By
The Akwa Ibom State Child Rights Law The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Godswill Akpabio, on 5th December, 2008 signed the child rights act into law to protect the growth of perceptual, emotional, intellectual, and behavioural capabilities and functioning during childhood of Akwa Ibom children under 16 years. The law protects the Akwa Ibom child from birth to adolescence and up to 16 years such that the child is afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that it can fully assume its responsibilities within the community. Child development becomes notable from the emergence of speech at one to two years of age. 2 to 7 years is early childhood where the child uses symbolic thought and language to manipulate their environment. 7 to 12 is late childhood and marks the beginnings of logic, involving the classification of ideas and an understanding of time and number. 12 up forms development of empathy, the ability to appreciate the feelings and perspectives of others. An...
Post a Comment
Read more

EFREN PENAFLORIDA - SOCIAL WORKER AND TEACHER

By
Efren’s Penaflorida – Social Worker and Teacher Efren Peñaflorida, Jr. sports no cape. He has no superpowers. You would neither throw him a second glance nor even notice him in a big crowd. There is really nothing special about Efren except his unparalleled dedication to reforming kids in their poverty-stricken community in Cavite, Philippines.Efren Peñaflorida, Jr.’s sanity was questioned when people first saw him going around the neighborhood pushing his improvised cart loaded with food, books, paper, pencils, and other things you would commonly see in a classroom. Why, Efren goes around the neighborhood pushing a mobile classroom to peddle the love for education. He left his well-paying job as a private school teacher to devote all of his time and effort to his Kariton Klasrum project while his neighbors mock him.To make matters worse, his parents and brother did not see the point in his earnestness to get out-of-school youths interested in going back to school. For a family s...
Post a Comment
Read more