Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has urged President Bola Tinubu to set up a presidential panel of enquiry to promptly probe the grim allegations that over US$15 billion of oil revenues and N200 billion budgeted to repair the refineries are missing.
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) revealed that the revenues needed to be accounted for between 2020 and 2021.
SERAP urged President Tinubu to “name and shame anyone suspected to be responsible for the missing and unaccounted for public funds and to ensure their effective prosecution as well as the full recovery of any proceeds of crime.”
SERAP also urged him “to fully implement all the recommendations by NEITI in its 2021 report and to use any recovered proceeds of crime.”
In a letter dated 23 September 2023, signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these serious allegations. Taking these important measures would end the impunity of perpetrators.
“As President and Minister of Petroleum Resources, your office ought to be concerned about these damning revelations by getting to the bottom of the allegations and ensuring that suspected perpetrators are promptly brought to justice and any missing public funds fully recovered.
“Any failure to investigate these grave allegations, bring suspected perpetrators to justice and recover any missing public funds would have serious resource allocation and exacerbate the country’s debt burden.
“It would also create cynicism, suspicion, and eventually citizens’ distrust about the ability of your government to combat high-level official corruption, as well as deter foreign investment and limit growth and development.
“We would therefore be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.”
