The Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has supported the audit of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) – a move that some believe is a part of a larger PR campaign to save minister's reputation and signal to the international financial community that she is angry with those behind the oil scandal, specifically the Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke.
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Finance Minister Ngozi-Iweala
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In an editorial opinion piece 'Recent setbacks will not undo Nigeria’s progress' published in the Financial Times on Thursday, Okonjo-Iweala has called for reforms in the Nigerian oil sector to end decades of suspicion of widespread corruption and supported the investigation authorized by President Goodluck Jonathan into allegations of large-scale fraud by the NNPC.
"This work must be conducted urgently, and it must be followed by systemic reform of the oil sector to make it more transparent and accountable to the Nigerian people," she said.
Okonjo-Iweala’s remarks followed the decision of the president to carry out audit of the NNPC. This move is a repose to the allegations of the former governor of the Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, that the NNPC had not remitted $20bn of oil revenue to the Federation Account.
Sanusi was removed from his position days after he had said the money was missing. While the Presidency has insisted that Sanusi was suspended over "gross misconduct" at the Central Bank, Sanusi has said his removal was politically-motivated.
Several sources said that Okonjo-Iweala's article is a part of a larger public relations campaign to save her reputation from ruining
The minister fights back
According to Sahara Reporters, although Alison-Madueke is the immediate focus of the missing revenue and alleged widespread corruption in the oil sector, Okonjo-Iweala’s reputation as a solid economic manager has also taken a major hit as her failure to detect the anomalies in the oil sector has been questioned.
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