NIGERIA'S PRESIDENT HAS ORDERED FORENSIC AUDIT FOR NNPC ACCOUNT TOWARDS MISSING $20BILLION...

President Goodluck Jonathan said on Wednesday that it had authorised the
engagement of reputable international firms to carry out the
forensic audit of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation.
The Presidency made this disclosure in a statement issued by the
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr.
Reuben Abati, in reaction to the claim by the suspended Governor
of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, that his
decision to expose corruption in the management of oil revenue
led to his travails.

It said Sanusi’s suspension had nothing to do with an attempt to
cover up his allegation that funds due to the Federation Account
were unaccounted for by the NNPC.
It described the various statements credited to the suspended CBN
governor in the media lately as cheap blackmail and attempts to
incite the public against the Federal Government.
The Presidency said it was unfortunate that instead of trying to
provide reasonable response to the query on his official conduct
as the governor of the central bank, Sanusi had chosen to whip up
public sympathy for himself and anger against the government in
recent press interviews.
The statement read, “We have noted with disappointment the
unrelenting attempt by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria,
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to falsely portray his recent suspension
from office as an attempt by the Presidency to bury his allegation
that huge sums of money due to the Federation Account are
unaccounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
“The Presidency wishes to reaffirm that Sanusi’s suspension has
absolutely nothing to do with his unproven and inconsistent claim
that $49.8bn, $12bn or $20bn is missing from the national
treasury.
“As was clearly stated in the letter suspending him from office and
confirmed by President Goodluck Jonathan in his last Presidential
Media Chat, Mallam Sanusi’s suspension was wholly based on the
need for him to step aside, while the weighty charges of financial
recklessness, gross misconduct and persistent disregard for laid
down rules and regulations in the management of the central bank
made against him by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria
and others are properly investigated.
“It is most unfortunate that instead of trying to provide some
reasonable response to the clear and unambiguous query of his
official conduct as governor of the central bank, Mallam Sanusi
has cynically chosen to whip up public sympathy for himself and
anger against the Federal Government by deliberately misleading
unwary Nigerians and the international community into believing
the falsehood that he is being punished for exposing corruption.
“In recent days, the suspended CBN governor has, following in the
footsteps of others who have an axe to grind with the government,
taken to spreading his false claims and allegations through
gullible foreign media correspondents, telling them, among other
things, that his threat to force commercial banks to open up their
books to unravel the whereabouts of the ‘missing’ funds, whether
$49.8bn, $12bn, or $20bn, ultimately led to his suspension.
“He also continues to make the mischievous claim that the
government is somehow involved in a scam to divert huge sums of
money from the Federation Account through the misappropriation
of kerosene subsidy funds.
“Mallam Sanusi’s allegations are patently untrue. But government
is making no effort to bury them as he falsely claims. Relevant
committees of the National Assembly are still investigating the
claims and the suspended CBN governor remains free to give
evidence before them in support of his allegations.