Lamido Sanusi, Former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, has called for a thorough audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and directed his inquiry towards Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who also serves as the Minister of Petroleum Resources on the whereabouts of dollars following his cessation of oil subsidy.
Speaking at the Bank Directors’ Summit in Abuja, Sanusi emphasized the crucial role of NNPCL as the government’s major foreign exchange earner and asserted that a proper examination of the company is essential for resolving the forex challenges.
Sanusi also kicked against Bola Ahmed Tinubu playing the role of a petroleum minister in Nigeria.
Sanusi revealed that his insistence on probing NNPCL had allegedly led to the loss of his position as CBN governor, a role he held from June 2009 to February 2014.
“The exchange rate needs to be stabilised, and we must address the fundamental question: why is there no money coming in? Why is the NNPCL not able to bring in dollars?
“I am sorry, this is the question that cost me my job, and I will continue asking this question until NNPCL fixes it up or until I die. Where are the dollars? We need to shine a light on the NNPCL.
“We are no longer paying subsidies, so where are the dollars? It was under recovery during the subsidy era, and that has been stopped, so where is the money? This was the issue I raised for which I was suspended; well, you can suspend me again.
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“The NNPCL is the most opaque oil company in the world. They have not been audited when I was in the Central Bank for 15 years,” he disclosed.
Sanusi also criticised the practice of the President serving as the minister of petroleum, suggesting that appointing a substantive minister would provide necessary oversight and accountability.
“By the way, let me advise you that the idea of the President becoming a petroleum minister is not a good one. The last President was the minister of Petroleum for eight years.
“When I was governor of the Central Bank, we had a minister of petroleum, so when I talked about the NNPCL, I could attack Diezani Madueke.
“Now, nobody can talk about Petroleum because for eight years, if you talk, you have been attacking the President. We need that buffer; somebody has to be there, so a minister who is held accountable by Nigerians has to be there,” he revealed.
Remember that since the emergence of ex-president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the Tinubu government, the substantive minister of Petroleum has remained the President.