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Senate Committee silent on NNPC’s forensic audit

By BusinessNews Staff on March 13, 2014

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has refused to make a categorical statement on the action so far taken by his committee to hire forensic experts to probe the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The senator failed to respond to questions asked him by our correspondent, who spoke with him on the telephone on Tuesday.

Makarfi simply hung up on our correspondent after the reporter had introduced himself and the mission of his call.

He did not also respond to a text (message) forwarded to his mobile telephone line on the issue.

However, a member of the committee, who pleaded anonymity, said only Makarfi could answer questions on the issue as he did not have the details.

“You should go and find this out from our chairman; he is the only one with the details. But I know he has approached the Senate leadership for approval to hire a forensic expert,” the senator said.

Makarfi, at the last public sitting of his committee, had announced the resolve of the Senate to contract a private firm to conduct an audit of the NNPC accounts.

He had said, “This, we shall surely do considering the vast legal, technical, financial and accounting records and documents we have to go through.

“We are to find out what part of the $6bn, which was said to be in the NPDC account, should go to the Federation Account. We need to establish the identity of the third party in the sum of $2bn third party financing and whether any amount was paid to them legally by the NNPC.

“The CBN said it was satisfied with the PMS subsidy in the sum of $5.25bn already certified by the PPPRA, but the Finance ministry further recommends forensic auditing.”

[Punch]

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