The Nation online reports that NNPC has withhold another $12.9 billion in eight according to the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Mr Wziri Adio.
Mr Adio who made the statement on Friday said that the revenue came from the Nigeria Liquified Natural Gas between 005 and 2013 adding that the masterminds of the infractions should be prosecuted by the an-ti graft agencies.But the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ibrahim Magu, said the agency will bite if NEITI wants it to do so.
According to a statement issued by the Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, the NEITI Executive Secretary spoke on the stench in the oil sector when he visited the EFCC chairman.
He said: “The 2013 Oil and Gas Audit Report revealed that some government agencies like NNPC and its subsidiaries withheld $3.8billion and N358billion.
“Another revelation is that $12.9 billion was withheld by NNPC from NLNG between 2005 and 2013.”
He expressed the readiness of his agency to collaborate with the EFCC in tackling corruption by reporting serious infractions that violate the country’s constitution.
“We have an Act that criminalise certain behaviours. If people do not cooperate with us, if people do not give us information on time, they are liable to be prosecuted, fined and jailed.
“But, we have existed for 12 to 13 years and nobody has ever been tried under our Act and that is not to say some infractions would not have occurred.”
He said a major challenge confronting NEITI is the lack of power to prosecute.
He said NEITI only carries out audit.
“There are a lot of findings that have come up over time about monies missing, about collusion between operators and government agencies, about possibility of money laundering, about all kinds of economic crimes that we are not in a position to push forward,” Adio said.
He said deepening relationship with EFCC would help send signals to all the agencies and companies that relate with NEITI to cooperate with it.
Responding, Magu, assured the delegation that the commission was prepared to give a quick response in areas of need and to improve on the existing relationship between the two agencies.
“Where you want us to use our teeth to bite, we would readily do so,” Magu added.
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