The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin has faulted calls by Amaechi and the G7 for the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala to resign. He said instead it should be Allison Madueke, the Petroleum Minister to resign as she was really in charge of the purse strings of the economy whilst Okonjo Iweala was just a manager making the best out of a bad situation.
“The NGF should take a second look at this matter, articulate their position and present to the Minister of Petroleum Resources. If anybody should be asked to resign, it should not be the Minister of Finance but Diezani Alison-Madueke, the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
“The whole issue has to do with government projected funds and since our economy is oil and gas-based, it is hasty to call for the resignation of the minister of finance without looking at the background of the issues involved.
“To me and our committee, where we should put our searchlight and lay more emphasis is the petroleum resources sector – the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
“The Minister of Petroleum Resources should be called to answer questions and give account of what is happening; it is not the Minister of Finance.
“Substantially, the money we are talking about comes from the oil sector, from crude sales. Till today, we have been asking how much crude are we even producing per day?
“Nobody knows the quantum of crude we produce per day in this country, the minister is not giving out any information on it and nobody is asking her.
“Transparency and accountability in NNPC is abysmally low, the system is still shrouded in absolute secrecy. Nobody understands how they operate,” he said.