Reps issue FG 7-day ultimatum to present forensic audit report on NNPC

The House of Representatives on Wednesday issued a seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to lay the full report of the forensic audit on the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

According to the House, the forensic report conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) which is to be transmitted through the office of the auditor general of the federation (AGF) must be accompanied with “initial draft report, the executive summary as well as management/internal control letters and submitted to the National Assembly not later than one week from today.”
Solomon Adeola, chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, who reiterated the position of the House, expressed concern over the delay in laying the report to both chambers of the National Assembly.

He disclosed that the Senate Committee on Finance had earlier requested for the copy of the forensic report from the executive.
Adeola maintained that “by virtue of Section 85(6) of the constitution, the auditor general ought not to be directed by Mr. President to deal with the report in a particular manner,” adding that for credibility and reliance, the office of the AGF ought to “receive and own the report” in line with extant laws.

He said, “It took quite a while and public outcry for snippets of the report to surface, albeit in the press. Mr. President was reported to have directed the auditor-general to study, analyse and release the report to the press. A highly condensed version of the report was eventually released as directed by the auditor general to the press with the highlights that NNPC must remit a minimum of $1.48 billion into the federation account.
“Several weeks have passed, several demands have been made by the committee and a resolution of the House has been passed demanding for the full report but we have not been given the full report. It is important to address the curious issues of this saga.

“Given the weighty allegation of possible loss of $20 billion to the federation account arising from alleged non-remittance by NNPC through the Ministry of Finance, it is curious that the forensic audit was commissioned and appointment of auditors was made by the minister of finance, an indictable official if allegation is proven, without the involvement or at least input of the auditor general, whose office is eminently and exclusively empowered for the duty by the 1999 constitution,” Adeola argued.