Vice-President Namadi Sambo shifted yesterday the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting fixed for tomorrow. But governors are planning a meeting of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) for tomorrow to demand answers to the nine posers they have raised on the state of the economy. Consultations were on yesterday on the need for a emergency session of the NGF in Abuja. The governors are likely to hold a briefing in Abuja after the NGF session. They were determined to find out at the NEC session how about $49.8billion oil sales proceeds was not remitted to the Federation Account between January 2012 and July 2013.

The governors may insist on a probe, it was
learnt. Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi raised the alarm over the “missing” fund in a memo to President Goodluck Jonathan. The postponement of the meeting was contained in a notice titled “Cancellation of 9th (53rd) NEC meeting” from the secretariat in the
Office of the Vice-President. It reads: “Please, I am directed by the Vice President and Chairman of the Council to inform Your Excellency that the NEC meeting scheduled for Thursday, 12th December 2013 has been postponed due to unforeseen circumstances. “A new date will be communicated to you.” No reason was given for the postponement.

A source said the shift followed security reports on the likelihood of the governors creating a scene on the nine posers they raised for the Presidency to address. A governor, who pleaded not to be named, said: “We have got a notice on the postponement of the NEC meeting due to unexplained unforeseen circumstances. We know that the shift was based on fears by the Presidency because certain matters on the state of the economy are now in the public domain. “The revelation on the alleged diversion of $49.8billion from the sale of oil has caused more tension among the governors. For the CBN Governor to have confirmed that only 24 per cent of the revenue from oil proceeds was remitted into the Federation Account is scandalous. “The issue at stake is beyond party leanings. We are all disturbed by this disclosure from the
CBN Governor in a memo to the President.” Another governor said: “Sambo was being
“tactical” in shifting the meeting because
President Goodluck Jonathan is away in South Africa for Nelson Mandela’s burial and he will not want the NEC meeting to degenerate to an embarrassing level for the government in the absence of the President. “They are trying to device means of managing the situation in a manner that there would be a soft-landing bend for the Federal Government.

We are however wiser than that,” he added. The governors plan to meet on these nine
issues and come up with a position on the state of the economy. Another source said: “They can postpone NEC meeting; they cannot stop us from talking on how the economy is being run. Why will the Federal Government present 2014 Budget without consulting NEC? Why will NNPC not remit $49.8bilion oil proceeds and the government is keeping quiet? “In 1980, we were talking of missing N2billion but now it is $49.8billion that cannot be traced. Someone needs to talk to the governors if we are truly practising Federalism.” The posers raised are:
•Was $50billion oil money not remitted to the Federation Account? Where is the money?
•Is Nigeria broke or not;
•Why was the NEC consulted before the 2014 budget was presented to the National
Assembly;
•How much has Nigeria earned from its oil sales in 2013 and what percentage of the budget is funded by these receipts?
•Is it really true that $5b is missing from Excess Crude Account
•How much oil does the country produce per
day?
•Clarification that the benchmark price for oil in the 2013 budget is $79?
•Is it a fact that crude oil was sold at prices that hovered around $110 throughout the year?

SOURCE: thenationonlineng.net/new/49-8b-missing-oil-money-governors-insist-probe/

Jonathan,Allison Madueke and Ngozi Okonjo Iweala should be held responsible for the missing money. The trio stink of corruption and should be held responsible for the massive theft going on in this administration.

Missing billions, planed sale of refineries... Connect the dots folks.

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Who told you the money was missing? Sanusi's statement is the latest ploy by the opposition to daface and downgrade the GEJ administration in the eyes of Nigerians. Go and read the reply of the NNPC online at punchng.com, and u will see that the NNPC remitted the money it is constitutionally empowered to do. The balance sanusi said was missing, is collected by the FIRS, and the DPR. Sanusi was obviously not in the know of this, and instead of seeking clearification with the neccessary government agencies, it decided to speak to the press; which is disloyalty and insurbodination of the highest order, and he should be reprimanded for that. Do u know what is $50 billion, are they planning to breakaway from Nigeria? Where will they hide such kind of money if they actually stole it? Some more APC synpathizers in GEJ administration need to be fired.

Sanusi's tenure ends next yr, we all kws dat D man is not a GEJ fan, rather Yar adua. Sanusi spoke out of ignorance , hw can NNPC nt temit money for crude oil sales for almost a year? does dat make sense to U? Wt av been keeping d nation going if nt d same oil money.
APC e-rats over to U, food is on ur tabe, remember rat poison dey oooooooo.

MidasT: Who told you the money was missing? Sanusi's statement is the latest ploy by the opposition to daface and downgrade the GEJ administration in the eyes of Nigerians. Go and read the reply of the NNPC online at punchng.com, and u will see that the NNPC remitted the money it is constitutionally empowered to do. The balance sanusi said was missing, is collected by the FIRS, and the DPR. Sanusi was obviously not in the know of this, and instead of seeking clearification with the neccessary government agencies, it decided to speak to the press; which is disloyalty and insurbodination of the highest order, and he should be reprimanded for that. Do u know what is $50 billion, are they planning to breakaway from Nigeria? Where will they hide such kind of money if they actually stole it? Some more APC synpathizers in GEJ administration need to be fired.

He sent the memo in September, considering how hefty the allegations are in the memo, the FG should have responded as quickly as possible. I think you are a fool if you are not a bit concerned about what is going on.


The main questions that we need answers to are:
how much crude is being sold everyday?
Is this $50 billion from crude produced by the joint ventures or by NPDC

This will give us a better picture of what is really going.

trillville:

He sent the memo in September, considering how hefty the allegations are in the memo, the FG should have responded as quickly as possible. I think you are a fool if you are not a bit concerned about what is going on.


The main questions that we need answers to are:
how much crude is being sold everyday?
Is this $50 billion from crude produced by the joint ventures or by NPDC

This will give us a better picture of what is really going.

Can u ever communicate without insulting? Obviously, becos of ur debase mind polluted with irrational thinking, and warped reasoning, u cannot. What is the essence of letting the whole world know this morning that u are a BIG FOOL? Am sorry for ur Parents, they obviously wasted the money they spent on ur Education.

The alleged failure of the Nigerian National Corporation to remit $49.8bn (about N8tn) oil proceeds to the Federation Account between January 2012 and July this year is causing a stir in government circles.
An online news medium,SaharaReporters, reported on Monday that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, had written to President Goodluck Jonathan to complain about the failure of the NNPC to remit the said amount to the Federation Account in contravention of extant laws.
He said the amount represented 76 per cent of the value of crude oil lifting during the period.
The complaints are contained in the letter to the President dated September 25, 2013.
However, the corporation refuted the claims that it diverted the said amount, adding that the allegation by the CBN governor was borne out of misunderstanding of the workings of the oil and gas industry and the modality for remitting crude oil sales revenue into the Federation Account.
Some operators in the sector, who spoke on the issue in an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, called for an in-depth probe into the scandal, stressing that the CBN had to come up with the ‘facts’ because of the frustrations it was encountering in dealing with the corporation.
Sanusi had said he was constrained to bring the huge anomaly, which he noted had lingered for years, to the notice of the President.
An oil marketer told our correspondent that some of the illegal activities being perpetuated by the NNPC would not have been successful if the corporation was not tactfully being supported by the senior government officials.
The marketer, who pleaded not to be named because of the sensitive nature of the issue, said, “It is sad to see this kind of report in the papers. The truth, however, is that there is no way the NNPC will be able to carry out this kind of fraud without the assistance of the minister of Petroleum Resources.”
However, the NNPC said in a statement on Tuesday evening that the CBN governor misunderstood how remittances on crude oil sales were being undertaken.
The General Manager, Media Relations Department, NNPC, Dr. Omar Ibrahim, said, “For the avoidance of doubt, it needs to be stated that the figure of 594.024 million barrels of crude oil given by the CBN as the total crude oil lifting for the period of January 2012 to July 2013 does not represent the correct picture of crude oil lifting for the period.
“From our records, the correct figure is 618.55 million barrels. This shows that the CBN understated the actual crude lifted by 4.13 per cent.”
He explained that the revenues from crude oil lifting were in various categories, namely equity crude; Petroleum Profit Tax, royalty, third party financing and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company.
Ibrahim said revenues from each of the categories were statutorily being collected by different agencies of the government.
He said the corporation was collecting only one of the aforementioned categories, the equity crude.
“The Petroleum Profit Tax is collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service; royalty goes to the Department of Petroleum Resources; third party financing goes for the research and development programme and satellite fields development, while the NPDC goes to the NPDC for upstream development,” the statement explained.
Ibrahim said while the NNPC was paying proceeds from equity crude directly to the Federation Account with the CBN, the FIRS and DPR were paying the PPT and royalty respectively into the same account.
The sum total of the proceeds makes up the alleged unremitted revenues, according to him.
He said, “The 24 per cent of total crude oil revenue receipts, which the CBN governor is reported to have acknowledged that NNPC remitted, represents the proceeds from the equity lifting which NNPC is directly responsible for.
“The alleged unremitted 76 per cent was paid to the agencies that are statutorily empowered to receive them for onward remittance into the Federation Account.”
He stressed the need for institutions of the Federal Government and top government functionaries to seek understanding of issues that were not clear to them from relevant agencies rather than go public with misleading information that was capable of creating public disaffection.