Drama As Okonjo-Iweala Again Disowns Forensic Audit Report of Missing NNPC $20bn

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines Thursday, April 30th, 2015

By Ayo Balogun – Lagos – The last is definitely yet to be heard of the forensic audit report by the PriceWaterHouse Coopers (Pwc) on the missing $20 Billion oil money, as the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Dr. (Mrs) Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Thursday again distanced herself and denied she did not engage the multinational auditing firm.

The Minster’s Special Adviser, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, made the denial in response to a lawsuit filed by a group of three accounting firms, before a Lagos High Court, which is accusing her (Dr. Okonjo-Iweala) of violating the local content law by appointing Pwc.

In the suit, the group alleged that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala engaged Pwc to conduct the forensic audit of the missing NNPC money in contrary to the provisions of the Local Content Act.

It would be recalled the audit report which the release was postponed twice was eventually released in September last year and ordered the Federal Government to remit the sum of $1.48 Billion to the NNPC has kept away from the public.

The FG reportedly accepted to act in line with the directive.

However, new twists were introduced into the forensic report, as President Goodluck Jonathan shockingly directed Monday, barely 24 hours after the President-Elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rted) last Sunday, vowed to probe the missing sum, which the whistle was blown open, last year, by the former Central Bank Of Nigeria (CBN) and Emir of kano, Mallam Lamido Sanusi Lamido.

The controversies also led to ousting of Lamido as CBN Governor in February 2014 – few months to expiry date of his first tenure.

Also on Tuesday, Pwc reversed and declared that the report it formally presented to and accepted by the Government was faulty and could not be relied upon, hence should be discarded.