Fashola To FG: Where Is $20b Oil Money?

Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State has called on the Federal Government to immediately tell the nation what happened to the missing $20 billion which the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, could not account for.
Fashola spoke when he received N80 million cheque and a truck from the Lebanese business community in the state on Monday at the State House, Ikeja, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
According to the governor, the tragedy of the nation was that there is still  “debate whether we have accounted for $20 billion or $10 billion or not. Ordinary citizens are contributing to fund the responsibility of government. It hurts me because one could only wonder and imagine what $10 billion will do for the police.”

Fashola stated that the missing fund could have done much in terms of equipping the police to fight crime in a better way, hoping that things would get better in Nigeria in the midst of wanton corruption.
“The issue of accounting for that money must be resolved publicly in the interest of the citizens of this great country. And it is a debate that all of us must participate in. peacefully. We will resolve it. Whether $20 billion or $10 billion, we must know where that money ended up,” he said.
The governor stated that everyone who has a duty, including the Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, must speak up now, saying that “we want to know what happened to that money.”

On the N80 million cheque and the truck handed over to him by the Consul-General of Lebanon, Mrs Dima Haddad, the governor thanked the Lebanese business community for the gesture towards securing the state, saying that the gesture would be one important block in the security architecture that the state is building.
“I want to appeal to the Lebanese community and others in the state, that while this donation will go a long way in boosting the provision of security, the real security starts from everyone of us. One could never spend more time at this moment on vigilance than at this moment.

“The employers should educate their employees on the importance of security. They must be interested in their own security. It is not something that someone gives to them. Lagos is safe but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be security conscious,” he said.
According to the governor, the first security is self protection and safety consciousness, saying that when the people show concern for this, it portrays the value that government places on safety.
“It will also do the government more good if private organisations install their own CCTV cameras because we cannot be everywhere. And the job of security requires that we get it right always,” he advised.

Presenting the cheque, Haddad said the donation was made in the name of the Lebanese business community and that it was to show the appreciation the Lebanese community had towards Nigeria.
She said “this country has allowed our Lebanese citizens to establish businesses which have afforded them the opportunity to contribute to the country’s economy. It also helped us to show appreciation to the state government’s effort to ensure that the state is well secured. We hope that this contribution will further boost the provision of security apparatus in the state.”

February 11, 2014