Top 20 controversies that rocked 2014
Category: Cover stories Published on Saturday, 13
December 2014 05:01 Written by Terna Doki,
Amina Alhassan, Abbas Jimoh & Prisca Ekokuje
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Herewith is a list of the 20 most striking
controversies which rocked Nigeria in 2014, with
some of them being scandals in their own right.
Some of the listed controversies will certainly spill
into 2015, as they are still unfolding. By no
means exhaustive, the list charts the most talked-
about incidents that helped shape the past year
for better or worse.
‘Missing’ $20 billion oil money (February 4)
After former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
Governor (now Emir of Kano) Malam Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi told the Senate Committee on
Finance that the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) had yet to remit $20bn to
government coffers, all hell was let loose. He, in
October 2013, lit the fire in a letter to President
Goodluck Jonathan, alleging that the NNPC failed
to remit about $49.8 billion oil revenue into the
Federation Account, saying the said money was
missing and needed investigation. He had stated
that the NNPC failed since 2012 to account for
nearly $50 billion in crude oil sales that should,
by law, have been remitted to government coffers
through the CBN. Sanusi was dissatisfied with
the explanations made by the NNPC authorities
over the allegations though he acknowledged that
Finance Minister Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had
made some explanations on its whereabouts.
FGN suspends former CBN governor, Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi (February 20)
President Jonathan suspended Malam Sanusi
Lamido Sanusi as CBN governor, claiming that
his tenure had been characterised by acts of
financial recklessness and misconduct. The
president said he was concerned about far-
reaching irregularities under Malam Sanusi’s
watch, which have distracted the apex bank away
from the pursuit and achievement of its statutory
mandate. Before his suspension, there had been
plans for the ex-CBN governor to go on retirement
leave but it was not to be. He however did not
exit the financial stage without responding to the
35-count allegations against him by the Financial
Reporting Council of Nigeria and the federal
government.
Minister of Petroleum’s N10bn jet expenses
(March)
Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison-Madueke
was accused of spending over N10 billion to
charter and maintain private jets for her personal
use. A resolution by the House of Representatives
during plenary blew the cover on the scandal
which accused her of spending N130 million
monthly to maintain her private jets in two years.
The initial accusations were based on suspicions
surrounding the source of funding for one private
jet, a Challenger 850, before the lawmakers
reportedly uncovered another aircraft named
Global Express XRS plane. However the NNPC,
which Alison-Madueke supervises, denied the
allegations, and stated that because oil and gas
sector operations are often time-sensitive, it is a
standard practice to utilise efficient means of
transportation.
19 applicants killed at Immigration Service
recruitment exercise (March 15)
Nineteen applicants were killed and scores injured
at the 2014 Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS)
recruitment exercise, a tragedy which occurred
when 6.5 million people across the country
(including the FCT) stormed various recruitment
centres in the country for 4,000 positions. The
applicants who had thronged venues of the
exercise, mostly stadia, paid N1,000 as
application fee. The federal government and the
two chambers of the National Assembly
constituted separate committees to probe the
tragedy at the time, but the reports of the panels
are yet to be made public. President Jonathan
also promised automatic employment for those
‘certified injured’ and three slots for immediate
family members of those killed, but there are
court cases and protests by those affected and
civil society organisations over the failure of the
government to honour the promises made. Failure
to sack Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro,
even after taking full responsibility for the tragedy
remains controversial.
http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/weekly/index.php/top-stories/18444-top-20-controversies-that-rocked-2014