The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an investigation into allegations of missing and unaccounted-for funds totaling over $15bn oil revenues and N200bn budgeted for refinery repairs between 2020 and 2021.
These allegations were documented by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative in its 2021 report.
The report stated that government agencies, including the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, are accused of failing to remit $13.591m and $8.251bn to the public treasury.
NEITI contends that both NNPC and NPDC failed to remit more than 70 per cent of these public funds.
However, in a letter dated September 23, signed by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization urged President Tinubu to identify and hold accountable anyone suspected of involvement in the disappearance of public funds and to ensure their effective prosecution, along with the full recovery of any ill-gotten gains.
It further advised the President “to fully implement all the recommendations by NEITI in its 2021 report and to use any recovered proceeds of crime,” pointing out that, “There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. Taking these important measures would end the impunity of perpetrators.”
