Buhari Promises To Probe Missing NNPC $20Billion, Blasts Jonathan For Sacking Sanusi Instead of Ordering Probe

President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, gave a hint of how his government will
kick-start its fight against corruption disclosing that he will probe the alleged missing $20 billion from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
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Speaking when a delegation of Adamawa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) paid him a congratulatory visit at his campaign headquarters in Abuja, Buhari declared that his government would revisit the matter.

He regretted that the outgoing government of
President Goodluck Jonathan did not give the issue
the seriousness it deserved, when the former
governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and
incumbent Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, brought the matter to the attention of the govern­
ment.

Buhari noted that rather than investigate the allegation, the government hurriedly removed Sanusi as CBN boss. The President-elect, who addressed his visitors in Hausa language, giving a clear message on the direction of his government, warned that stealing of public funds meant to provide jobs for the teem­ ing jobless Nigerian youths, would not be
condoned.

He said though some government officials were said to be returning some money to the government, he was not moved by the gesture.

He said: “I heard that some people have started
returning money; I will not believe it until I see for
myself.

Imagine a situation where the former CBN governor, who by God’s grace later became the Emir of Kano raised an issue of missing billions of money, not in naira but in dollars, $20 billion.

“What happened? Instead of investigating to know
whether it was true that the money was missing or
not, they simply found a reason to remove him. So,
these are the issues we are talking about.

“This issue is not over yet. Once we assume office,
we would order a fresh probe on the matter. We
would not allow people to steal money meant for
Nigerians to buy shares and stash away in foreign
lands.”

On his campaign promises, the President-elect reiterated that his administration would do everything to address in­ security in the country.

Gen Buhari accused the ruling Peoples Democratic
Party (PDP) of playing politics with security agencies, especially the military. According to him, the implication was that the military was getting
weaker and ineffective by the year.

The President-elect, who was military head of state
between December 31,1983 and August 1985, recalled the lofty feats achieved by the Nigerian Army in foreign lands and wondered why it had been very difficult for it to curb the menace of Boko Haram in the North East to the extent that 14 local government areas were lost to the insurgents.

Describing Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation,
he stated that it had become obvious that the sect’s
operations were not religion-oriented but pure
terrorism against the nation and the people.

“I said it earlier, all the religions we practice both Is­
lam and Christianity do not support terrorism. So, to
kill people either in the mosque or in a church,
market, motorpark or to slaughter children in school, anyone who commits such a crime either does not know what Allahu Akbar (God is great) means or does not believe in it. This is terrorism. It is our hope that God gives us the power to end this.

“Because of this (Boko Haram crisis), some of our
fellow Nigerians from the North East don’t know
where their parents are; some don’t know where
their children are. Their houses have been burnt,
their cities like Bama, Michika, Mubi Madagali and
the rest of them.

“I urge you to be patient and ensure that anything
that will benefit our nation receives your support.
We will try our possible best and ensure that we
repair hospitals, schools, roads and ensure that we
get drugs in our hospitals, books and other
equipment.

“The 16 years of the PDP has further impoverished
the people, it was the PDP, not the APP, not the CPC, not the APC. The three things we in the APC will give priority to are the issues of security, the
economy and the war against corruption.”