The Nigerian leader, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, has bowed to pressure and approved the hiring of foreign auditors to undertake a forensic examination of the accounts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati disclosed this in a statement he issued in Abuja this evening.

“In keeping with its avowed commitment to full transparency, openness and accountability in governmental affairs, the Federal Government has authorized the engagement of reputable international firms for the recommended forensic audit of NNPC accounts,” Abati said.

It is not clear when the order was given and if any deadline has been set for it.

News Express reports that there has been an undying clamour for the forensic audit of NNPC’s accounts following the allegation by suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, that billions of dollars in oil revenue was not remitted to the federation account.

Sanusi first put the allegedly missing sum at $49.8 billion but later accepted the reconciled figure of $12 billion before saying it was $20 billion.