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Nigeria: President Buhari appoints himself to end nation's oil corruptionNigeria: President Buhari appoints himself to end nation's oil corruptionOil provides 70 percent of Nigeria's government revenue but is an industry plagued with malfeasance. Two years ago the central bank reported $20 billion in missing oil-related funds. Abuja, Nigeria — Four long months after taking office Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari finally announced his cabinet positions, with the most controversial and lucrative – oil – going to himself. Mr. Buhari campaigned on a pledge to end corruption, and nowhere is that corruption more insidious than in the oil ministry of Africa’s most populous country. Yet whether Buhari, himself a former oil minister, can clean up an industry that two years had $20 billion in missing funds is quite unclear. Critics say the new president is over-reaching with what amounts to a full-time second job. As Africa’s biggest oil producer, crude runs through the arteries of the Nigerian economy. Some 70 percent of the Nigerian government’s $22 billion revenue comes from crude. More than 80 percent of foreign trade is tied to oil. When oil prices dipped last year by nearly 40 percent, Nigeria’s coffers were so devastated that Buhari called them “virtually empty” when he came into office. But mismanagement and the theft of billions have also plagued the ministry for decades. Most oil is stolen through accounting and oversight gaps. But much goes missing far away from the minister’s eyes: from oil fields, pipelines, and even from the export terminals. Buhari said last week he is taking the oil ministry job because he doesn’t trust anyone else. His plans include stepped-up accounting of oil receipts and recovering of stolen funds. Such plans would head off reports like that in 2014 when the Central Bank of Nigeria announced $20 billion in missing oil receipts from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), a state-owned enterprise. 1 for you 2 for me 1 for you 3 for me |
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