CBN Governor Lamido
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) yesterday disowned the controversial secret account at J.P. Morgan.
NNPC Group Executive Director (Finance) Mr. Bernard Otti told the joint Senate Committees on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Appropriation and Finance investigating the management of the fuel subsidy scheme that J. P. Morgan Account was opened by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its behalf in 2002.
The CBN had earlier told the committee that the secret account was opened and solely managed by the NNPC.
But Otti told the committee that the CBN is the sole signatory to the account.
Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala on Monday said distanced her ministry had no hand in the account.
Though Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala told the committee that she is aware of the account, she denied knowledge of its details, including the number.
NNPC Group Managing Director Andrew Yakubu told the committee that the CBN owns the account.
Committee chair Senator Magnus Abe compelled Otti to appear before the committee to clarify the status of the account.
Otti claimed that the CBN operates the account on behalf of NNPC “right from the outset when the account was opened in the United States”.
He said: “The NNPC has no direct contact with the J.P. Morgan account. The account was opened by the CBN on behalf of the NNPC. It was opened in the last quarter of 2002 by the CBN for NNPC.
“The account is operated by NNPC in the CBN. CBN has its correspondent banks to which NNPC isn’t a party. NNPC doesn’t operate that account; NNPC operates domiciliary account with CBN.”
Asked to be definite if the NNPC or the CBN operates the account and whose money is paid into it, Otti said:
“The money paid into the account is crude (oil) money of Nigeria . We are not party to that transaction. Our relationship with the CBN accounts begins and terminates with that account.”
Otti said the CBN is the only signatory, such that the NNPC is not even on the account mandate.
He insisted: “The CBN is the signatory to that account. We have no relationship with J. P. Morgan whatsoever. We are not in the mandate.”
The committee vowed to ensure that accounts not known to the Constitution are closed and all monies paid directly into the Federation Account.
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