Senate orders NNPC, CBN to close all Foreign Accounts of proceeds of crude oil

Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has disassociated itself from ownership of a secret foreign account with American bank, J.P. Morgan. This development has brought another dimension and controversy to the fuel subsidy saga as to the true owners of the account. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the NNPC have both denied ownership of the account with JP Morgan.
Following the drama, Chairman of the Joint Committees, Senator Magnus Abe ordered that both the NNPC and CBN should reconcile their books close up all foreign accounts into which proceeds of the sale of the nation’s crude oil were being paid.
Appearing before the committee, the Group Executive Director, Finance of the NNPC, Mr. Bernard Oti, told the Committee that the corporation had no relationship with JP Morgan, but the CBN. He stressed that the NNPC only operates a domiciliary account with the CBN.
Oti who told the Senate Committee that the J. P Morgan account was opened by the CBN on its behalf in 2002, said that the CBN was the sole signatory to the account, adding that the bank could operate such account with its corresponding bank off shore. It will be recalled that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had distanced the from the account.