Buhari vows to probe alleged $20bn NNPC missing fund

Muhammadu Buhari, the president-elect, has vowed to revisit the alleged $20 billion missing fund from the coffers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation(NNPC).

Buhari,who spoke while addressing a delegation of Adamawa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who paid him a congratulatory visit at his campaign headquarters in Abuja, showed open resentment that the present government turned a deaf ear over the alleged missing money when it was raised by the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who is now the emir of Kano.

Sanusi,who is now known as Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II, had last year raised the alarm about missing $20 billion but was removed shortly after by President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Federal Government later hired an international audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers,to audit the account of the NNPC.

The PwC report stated that NNPC must remit$1.48 billion to the Federation Account.However,the former CBN governor said the issues surrounding the alleged missing $20 billion oil money have not been adequately addressed by the Federal Government.

The president-elect on Sunday regretted that the government hurriedly sacked the former CBN governor instead of investigating the missing funds.

Buhari,who spoke in Hausa language, made it clear that his administration would not condone stealing of public funds meant to provide jobs for the teeming jobless Nigerian youths.

“I heard that some people have started returning money; I will not believe it until I go and see for myself.

“Imagine a situation where the former CBN governor who by God’s grace later became the emir of Kano raised an issue of missing billions of money, not in naira but in dollars,$20 billion.

“What happened, instead of investigating to know whether it was true that the money was missing or not, they simply found a reason to remove him. So these are the issues we are talking about.

“This issue is not over yet. Once we assume office, we would order a fresh probe on the matter. We would not allow people to steal money meant for Nigerians to buy shares and stash away in foreign lands,” he said.

The president-elect also reiterated his campaign promises of ensuring adequate security in the land.Heaccused
the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) of bastardising the Nigerian military, which, he said, rendered it ineffective.

He recalled the lofty feats achieved by the Nigerian army in foreign lands,wondering why it had been very difficult for it to curb the menace of Boko Haram in the North East to the extent that some 14 local government areas would e lost to the insurgents.He stated that it had become obvious that the issue of Boko Haram was not religious oriented but pure terrorism against the nation and the people.

“I  thank God for your visit. From what he (leader of delegation) has said, this problem of Boko Haram, we thank God it is now evident that this is not a religious problem, it is 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, anyonewho 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.

“Because of the (Boko Haram crisis) some of our fellow Nigerians from the North East don’t know where their parents are. Some don’t know where their children are,there houses have been burnt, their cities like Bama, Michika, Mubi, Madagaliand the rest of them.“Some have built houses outside and when trouble starts they don’t even bother to take 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.

“The 16 years of the PDP has further impoverished the people, it was the PDP, not the APP, not the CPC, not the APC.

“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 Bama, the same army that when I  was commissioned second lieutenant I did not spend three weeks before I found myself in Kinshasha (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 thereto 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,” he said.