•Peter Obi
The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, today, said that the latest alleged ‘financial irregularities’ at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) unearthed by the Senate confirmed his position that the Nigeria has become “a crime scene.”
His reaction came 48 hours after the Senate Committee on Public Accounts examining the books of the oil company from 2017 to 2023, alleged that over N210trillion could not be accounted for, reports Nigeran Tribune.
The figure included N103tn categorised as “accrued expenses” and another N107tn classified as “receivables”, which the committee said were contained in the audited accounts of the NNPCL.
Alarmed by the development, the committee, which is chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, raised 11 questions for the NNPCL to answer within one week, though a team led by the Chief Financial Officer of the company, Mr Dapo Segun, relentlessly disputed the conclusions of the committee.
Speaking after the sessions which took place on Wednesday, Wadada stated, “This we found very ridiculous, very unacceptable by the committee.
“You have listened to all that transpired and the questions are now handed over to them. It is important for the public to know each of these questions emanated as a result of what we discovered from the audited financial statement of NNPC from 2017 to 2023.
“Now, on just these two items, accrued expenses and then receivables, we are talking over N210tn.”
Taking to his X handle today, Obi tweeted, “It is with the utmost sadness that I once again reaffirm what I have consistently said: Nigeria has become a crime scene.
“How else does one explain the recent revelation by the Senate, which uncovered the audited accounts of the NNPC from 2017 to 2023? The Senate uncovered N210 trillion in financial irregularities, N103 trillion in so-called ‘accrued expenses’, and another N107 trillion in unaccounted ‘receivables’. No documentation. No accountability. No consequences.
“This is not just another scandal, it is a clear and damning confirmation of a nation held hostage by monumental corruption.”
Obi said he was dumbfounded that the amount in question was way higher than the country’s total national budget for the period under review (2017-2023).
He wrote, “Our national budget within the said period of 2017 to 2023 is as follows: 2017, N7.440 trillion. 2018, N9.120 trillion. 2019 N8.916 trillion.
“(In) 2020, ₦10.590 was initially approved and in June revised to ₦9.974 trillion due to COVID. 2021, N13.588 trillion. 2022 N17.130 trillion. 2023 N21.830 trillion. Total: N88.010 trillion.
“Our total national budget within the said period was not up to 50% of the said financial discrepancies and irregularities.
“This is a criminal institutionalised betrayal of the Nigerian people and a grave threat to the future of the society our children will live in.
“No responsible nation can continue to function like this without confronting this truth. This criminality masquerading as governance must be stopped and dismantled for a better Nigeria.”
