A Nigerian government panel on Monday confirmed allegations of $197-million fraud in a state-run oil firm before it was privatised two years ago.
The government last August set up the panel to investigate allegations that management of African Petroleum Limited (AP) failed to disclose the true financial status of the company before it was sold off to an indigenous oil firm, Sadiq Petroleum Nigeria Limited.
”From our findings, there were unprecedented and cleverly contrived concealment of over 25-billion naira ($197m) debts by the immediate past management of AP before privatisation,” retired judge Robert Nkob, head of the panel, said in a report submitted to Justice Minister Kanu Agabi. ”The said management engaged itself in unwarranted and criminal borrowings from various financial institutions in the form of commercial papers and bankers’ acceptances far in excess of what could reasonably have been needed for normal operation of the company,” Nkob said. – Sapa-AFP