Nigeria: NLNG's 'Missing' Dividends Must Be Recovered

editorial

The Buhari Presidency revealed recently that it got a request to probe the whereabouts of approximately $4 billion (some 800 billion naira at current rates) in taxes and dividends paid by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Ltd. According to the company's Managing Director, Baba Omotowa the NLNG paid out over $30 billion to its shareholders over the past ten years. Nigeria with a 49% stake is the single largest shareholder in the company, and there is some uncertainty as to which of the nation's revenue accounts was the dividend paid into.

However, reacting to the revelation, the National Publicity Secretary of the ruling party the All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Lai Mohammed, called on the federal government to unravel what happened to the apparent mystery of the missing cash. Investigations by a number of newspapers appeared to show that the accrued dividends for the period between 2009 and 2014 amounted to $4.7 billion. Of this amount, just $128 million was paid into the Federal Government's Independent Account with the multinational JP Morgan. Not surprisingly, the Nigerian public seems shell-shocked regarding the dizzying figures that are yet to be accounted for by the past administration of Goodluck Jonathan, hence the noticeable lethargy in reacting to yet another episode in the "missing funds" unending saga. But it would be a disservice to the nation, and to the solemn pledge of President Buhari to fight corruption, not to examine every case of malfeasance at any level of any government until a closure is found to each one.

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