confidentially speaking
The Africa Confidential Blog
The missing oil money
Blue Lines
Even in the annals of Nigerian
corruption scandals, the latest revelations about the diversion of
state funds under the presidencies of Goodluck
Jonathan and Umaru Musa
Yar'Adua are breaking records. On 18 January, Information
Minister Lai
Mohammed announced that 55 people had stolen 1.3 trillion naira
(US$6.5
billion) in 2006-13. He said the miscreants included 15 former state
governors.
Last year's audit of oil operations failed to explain how at
least $10 bn. of export revenue had not been transferred to the
Federation Account. Last September, Deputy Oil Minister
Emmanuel
Kachikwu said international oil companies had been overpaid some
$10
bn. through a system of tax breaks and over-invoicing on services
costs.
Arms deals were the other favoured means to divert state funds.
Investigations of two parallel procurements continue: the first targets
Colonel
Sambo Dasuki, former
National Security Advisor, who is accused
of presiding over $2 bn. of fraudulent arms deals which allowed
Jonathan's government to fund its 2015 election campaign. Then in
another $2 bn. arms scandal, ten generals and a colonel are in the
frame for running another corrupt network.
The week's revelations have
raised two questions for a nearly unshockable Nigerian public: how far
into the heart of the Jonathan government will these investigations go?
And most pertinently for the future, where are the institutional
constraints to stop the same thing happening again?
