Missing $20bn: Okonjo- Iweala Gets One Week Ultimatum To Submit Forensic Audit - Politics

Missing $20bn: Okonjo- Iweala Gets One Week Ultimatum To Submit Forensic Audit - Politics - Nairaland

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Missing $20bn: Okonjo- Iweala Gets One Week Ultimatum To Submit Forensic Audit by saintopus(op): 9:22pm On Feb 25, 2015

By Emma Ovukporie & Levinus
Nwabughiogu
ABUJA – Miffed by the uncounted
$20 billion, the House of
Representatives has Wednesday
issued a one week ultimatum to
the Minister of Finance and
Coordinating Minister of the
economy Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to
submit the report of the forensic
audit.
The mandate followed a
resolution, passed last week by
the House at plenary which
directed its Committee on Public
Accounts, otherwise called PAC, to
investigate the matter.
Chairman of the committee, Hon.
Solomon Adeola Olamilekan (APC,
Lagos) while briefing Journalists
on the matter stated that the
report “must include the Initial
Draft Report, the Executive
Summary and Management/
Internal Control Letters.”
Olamilekan noted that the
“condensed version” of the report
released to the public through a
press conference addressed by the
Auditor-General of the Federation
with the highlight that Nigeria
National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) should remit a minimum
of $1.48 billion to the Federation
Account had rather prompted the
demand for complete report.
He said: “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.”
He noted that “the report has
been unduly delayed and its
submission also side-stepped the
Auditor-General. It is a
professional best practice that
such reports first come in draft,
discussed, fine-tuned before the
release of the final report, usually
accompanied by the more detailed
Management Letter.”

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2015/02/missing-20bn-okonjo-iweala-gets-one-week-ultimatum-to-submit-forensic-audit-2/