In an interview with Punch in Abuja on Thursday, Falana said, “The allegations are
worrisome for a country that wants to be taken seriously at home and
abroad.
“It is embarrassing that those put in
charge of the economy, either out of ignorance or mischief, do not
appear competent to manage the responsibilities of their offices.”
Recalling that Sanusi had recanted his
earlier statement that the NNPC failed to remit $49.8bn to the
Federation Account between 2012 and July last year, the human rights
activist asked the CBN governor to always reconcile his figures before
releasing same to the public.
“It is absolutely irresponsible of the
governor of a central bank, even in a banana republic, to come out and
allege the disappearance of the colossal sum of $49.8bn, and as soon as
he was challenged, the figure was reduced to $12bn with an apology, only
for him to wake up two days ago to say sorry the figure is $20bn,”
Falana said.
He, however, said it was not sufficient
for the NNPC to suggest that Sanusi should not be taken seriously, but
that the true position of the corporation’s accounts must be disclosed.
He said, “As far as I am concerned, the
Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy has no
powers under the law to reconcile accounts.
“It is the constitutional duty of the
Auditor-General of the Federation to audit the accounts of the Federal
Government and its Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
“The auditor-general should, as a matter
of urgency, look into these figures and come out with the correct
position of the Federation Account.”
Meanwhile, Vice-President Namadi Sambo
on Thursday absolved himself of any blame in the case of the alleged
$20bn missing from the Federation Account.
No comments:
Post a Comment