Minister says NNPC has started refunding 'missing' $1.48bn

monjola sotubo

April 23, 2015 3:51 PM

The refund is being made pursuant to the recommendations of audit firm, PriceWaterHouse Coopers.

Former Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke

The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Alison-Madueke has said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has started refunding the $1.48bn earlier unremitted funds into the Federation Account.

The audit into the NNPC’s affairs was ordered after former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi alleged that $20 billion in funds had gone missing.

“The PriceWaterHouse Coopers forensic audit that was done few weeks ago in his recommendation mentioned that $1.48bn was owed by the NPDC for a block that had hitherto been assigned from the NNPC to the NPDC which is its subsidiary,” Alison-Madueke said on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, while speaking to journalists.

“They felt that the right process would be that the NPDC will refund that money to the Federation Account. The NPDC has apparently started those refunds and it is also in discussion with the NNPC and the DPR on same. So the refund has actually began,” she added.

The minister also denied reports that she was seeking asylum outside the country saying that she had not committed any crime.

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