The Conference of Nigeria Political Parties (CNPP), has thrown its weight behind the demand by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), a government-owned commercial company, to account for an alleged missing N825 billion and $2.5 billion oil money.
The umbrella body of all registered political parties and political associations in Nigeria maintained that it has “consistently called for the probe of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), now NNPC Limited, and its officials, citing widespread corruption, mismanagement, and lack of transparency in the oil industry.”
In a statement signed by its Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Comrade James Ezema, the CNPP said “Some time in 1999, the CNPP first raised concerns about the opaque nature of NNPC’s operations, calling for a comprehensive audit of the corporation’s finances.
“Our demands were met with resistance from the government, but we persisted, knowing that transparency and accountability are essential for good governance and the survival of our democracy.
“Over the years, the CNPP has continued to push for reforms in the oil industry, calling for the sack of successive NNPCL management teams, including the current Mele Kyari-led team. We have also demanded the prosecution of NNPCL officials implicated in corruption scandals, but our calls have fallen on deaf ears.
“Despite the incorporation of NNPC as a commercial company under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration, the CNPP has maintained that this move was merely a smokescreen to perpetuate corruption. We insisted that the same management team remained in place, and that the incorporation was an incorporation of corruption.
“The CNPP’s demands for accountability and transparency in NNPC Limited are therefore not new. We have been consistent in our calls for an independent forensic audit of NNPC Limited since 1999. We believe that it is in the best interests of the Nigerian people for NNPC Limited to open its accounts for a thorough audit, and all unremitted revenues traced, recovered and remitted to the Federation accounts.
“For us, the recent demand by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) for NNPC Limited to account for the alleged missing N825 billion and $2.5 billion is a welcome development. The CNPP wholeheartedly supports SERAP’s demand and calls on NNPC Limited to meet the demands without delay.
“We urge the Federal Government to take immediate action to address the allegations of corruption and mismanagement in NNPC Limited. The time for transparency and accountability is now, and we will continue to push for reforms in the oil industry until Nigerians can reap the benefits of their country’s rich natural resources.
“The CNPP warns that Nigerians will continue to suffer hardships until NNPCL begins to operate transparently and remit all revenues to the Federation accounts, thereby ending the yearly borrowings to finance Nigerian budgets, which have worsened since 2015.
“We call on all Nigerians to join other civil society bodies and concerned groups in demanding accountability and transparency in NNPCL. Together, we can push for reforms and ensure that our country’s natural resources are used for the benefit of all, not just a privileged few”, the statement concluded.
