missing $20bn oil money from the federation account on Wednesday
caused a division between the Vice Chairman, Senate Committee on
Interior, Olubunmi Adetunmbi, and a former Chairman, Senate Committee
on Senate Services, Emmnauel Anosike.
While Adetunmbi said Sanusi's action was proper and urged Nigerians
"to be vigilant in ensuring that the on-going investigation into the
allegation gets to its satisfactory conclusion," Anosike said the CBN
governor was lowering his integrity and 'rubbishing' the nation's
economy before the international community.
Adetumbi said the on-going controversy over the alleged missing fund
was a vindication of his position when he first raised the motion on
unremitted funds on the floor of the Senate.
He said his motion had led to the sequence of events that uncovered
the controversial issue of missing funds.
He also described as mischievous, insinuations that the CBN governor
was acting the script of the opposition.
But Anosike, a member of the fifth Senate, warned Sanusi against
playing to the gallery.
He said, "The CBN governor is playing to the gallery with his recent bombshell.
"As the head of a major parastatal in the Federal Ministry of Finance,
his first communication should be to the supervising minister, who
also doubles as the coordinating minister for the economy.
"Coming every month to the National Assembly to give conflicting
figures of unremitted oil proceeds by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation does not portray him as a man of integrity. A CBN governor
should not be seen always talking in public. Rather, he should
concentrate on the regulatory role of CBN.
"He should open up a line of communication with his finance minister
and stop being used.
"His inconsistency is sending wrong signal to the international
community about Nigerian economy".
The Senator urged the Senate not to be hasty in its investigation into
the matter.
According to him, the committee responsible for the probe should
critically appraise both the NNPC and CBN books with a view to
bringing the issue to a logical conclusion.
He also admonished Sanusi to join politics and stop overheating the
already charged political environment.
Meanwhile, the opposition All Progressives Congress on Wednesday said
the Federal Government had been unable to come clean by giving a
satisfactory explanation with respect to the unremitted $20bn by the
NNPC.
Interim National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed,
said it was sad that the Peoples Democratic Party-led government kept
falling from one financial scandal to another with corruption hitting
an all time high.
He said, "This government has been unable to come clean by giving a
satisfactory explanation as per the missing funds. One time it was
said to be $49bn then it was revised downwards.
"Yesterday, the Central Bank Governor categorically said the NNPC has
been unable to account for $20 bn dollars.
"This is a government that is swimming in corruption and it seems that
their thinking is very simple 'let them talk, the people will soon
forget.' Nigerians who wallow in poverty and live in hardship will not
forget."
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