Account For Missing N825bn, $2.5bn For Refinery Repairs, SERAP Tells NNPCL
The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mele Kyari to “account for and explain the whereabouts of the alleged missing N825bn and $2.5bn meant for ‘refinery rehabilitation’ and other oil revenues, as documented in the 2021 annual report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.”
SERAP urged Kyari “to identify those suspected to be responsible for the disappeared oil money and hand them over to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).”
SERAP also urged him “to formally invite former president Olusegun Obasanjo to tour Nigeria’s refineries and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC to monitor the operations of the refineries, and any spending on them, including the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.”
In the letter dated 4 January 2025 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “We welcome your timely public invitation to former president Obasanjo ‘to tour the Port Harcourt and Warri refineries.
“While your invitation is clearly not ‘disrespectful’, contrary to the claims by the former president because no one is above the law, we urge you to formally invite him, and to extend your invitation to the EFCC and ICPC for the sake of transparency and accountability.”
SERAP also said, “Your public invitation to Obasanjo is well-justified, and entirely consistent with the letter and spirit of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and the country’s international obligations on the obligations of the NNPCL and the roles of citizens in preventing and combating grand corruption.”
The letter, read in part: “The grim allegations by the Auditor-General suggest a grave violation of the public trust and the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution, national anti corruption laws, and the country’s international obligations.”
The allegations have also undermined economic development of the country, trapped the majority of Nigerians in poverty and deprived them of opportunities.”
