Believing that he had heard and seen the worst of how
corrupt practices have brought Nigeria to her knees, President Muhammadu
Buhari, last week, almost lost his cool when it was brought to his attention
that a whopping $16 billion – at the official exchange rate of N196, this comes
to N3.136 trillion; while, with the parallel market rate of N315, it comes to a
whopping N5.04trillion) of the nation’s crude oil revenue loss could be traced
to some sharp practices by some individuals in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The quantum of funds in question is revenue that ought to have accrued to the Federal Government of Nigeria through oil-lifting deals which are now subject of intensive investigations.
The quantum of funds in question is revenue that ought to have accrued to the Federal Government of Nigeria through oil-lifting deals which are now subject of intensive investigations.
Specifically, one of
the arrow heads of the crude oil lifting scam, who has been invited and
interrogated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at least
twice before, has been granted administrative bail, and “who is alleged to be
warehousing a sizable chunk of the money, drew the ire of Mr. President”, an
Aso Rock Presidential Villa source disclosed.
Even visiting South
African President, Jacob Zuma, was caught in the cross winds of Buhari’s
reinvigorated mode of anti-corruption, as he ordered that every kobo of the
stolen funds must be recovered. Similarly, information suggests that the
government of the United States of America is helping in the provision of
intelligence on how to trace some of the stolen funds from Nigeria. Benin Republic
and South Africa have both become safe havens for Nigeria’s stolen funds
investigations have revealed.