It will amount to a disservice to Nigerians if the massive looting of the treasury by public officials is overlooked by President Muhammadu Buhari, the All Progressives Congress (APC) said yesterday.
The party said only the total recovery of every kobo could placate Nigerians, who have been short-changed by those entrusted with the commonwealth.
In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said whoever attempts, either by deeds or words, to sabotage the recovery efforts of the Buhari administration cannot be a patriot and deserves nothing but public opprobrium.
Acknowledging Nigerians’ overwhelming support for the Buhari administration in its tough but important task of tracing and recovering the loot, the APC said the government should take a step further by ensuring that the looters face justice.
The APC statement reads: “It is absolutely gratifying that Nigerians are vehemently opposed to the few who would rather have the government of the day turn a blind eye to the looted funds and, in their words, carry on with the process of governance.
“Truly, what sort of governance can go on if the billions of naira in a few hands are not recovered? In the first instance, the government needs every kobo of the funds it can muster to bring about the change it has promised Nigerians.
“Secondly, leaving such hair-raising funds in the hands of the few looters is dangerous, because they can use the funds to destabilise any government. In fact, no one will be surprised if the looters use their dirty funds to sponsor public demonstrations against the government’s determination to recover the funds.
“Thirdly, allowing those who privatised the commonwealth to get away is offering a thumbs-up for looting. No responsible government will do that.”
The party alleged that the looters were already embarking on a relentless and an increasingly-bold campaign to discredit the government in a spirited attempt to sabotage the funds’ recovery process, using newspaper columnists, “talking heads” and otherwise respectable opinion leaders.
It said: “They and their paid hirelings have tried to employ sophistry to muddle the waters, but Nigerians are much wiser, and will not succumb to the dirty antics of the looters’ megaphones.”
The party said it was necessary to remind Nigerians of the kind of massive looting that took place in the past few years, so they can better appreciate the seriousness of the issue at stake.
Putting the issues in perspective, it said: N3.8 trillion out of the N8.1 trillion earned from crude oil (2012-2015) was withheld by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); $2.1 billion from Excess Crude Account (ECA) unaccounted for; N109.7 billion royalty from oil firms unremitted by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and $6 billion allegedly looted by some ministers in the immediate past administration.
Others are: $13.9 billion being proceeds of 160 million barrels of crude lost between 2009 and 2012; $15 million from botched arms deal yet to be returned to Nigeria; $13 billion Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividends mostly unaccounted for; N30 billion questionable waiver granted to rice importers and N183 billion unaccounted for at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The party said these “missing” funds constituted just a tip of the iceberg since they were from a few sectors of the economy – mostly the oil sector – and were discovered even before the forensic audit now being undertaken in some key areas.
“The level of looting that went on in other sectors is better imagined, hence the need for all Nigerians to rally around the Buhari administration to recover the loot, bring the looters to justice and to put in place measures to prevent such looting in the future,” the party said.
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