Lagos lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, yesterday, urged the Auditor General of the Federation, AGF, to publish the periodic checks of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, carried out by his staff to shed more light on the alleged missing money.
In a response to the letter written to him from the office of the AGF on his earlier request, Falana gave him seven days to provide the information, else he would initiate legal proceedings to compel him to carry out his constitutional duties.
In his new letter, Falana challenged the AGF to provide the information in view of the binding duty on the Federal Government to promote transparency and accountability, promising that he was ready to apply for the certified true copy of the report if AGF’s office was not inclined to make the report public.
The lawyer, had on February 7, 2014, in the wake of the allegation by suspended Governor of the Cental Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s allegation that about $49.6 billion oil money was missing from the federation account, requested for information on the missing money under the freedom of Information Act and audit of the federation account by the AGF.
The Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, OAuGF, in its response to Falana’s request, said that some ethics and professional threats are working against its capability to carry out the audit of NNPC’s accounts.