OpeOluwani Akintayo
29 November 2017, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, has denied allegation that it failed to remit and diverted the sum of $950 million royalty payment to the Federation Account, describing the allegation as “erroneous and misleading”.
Recent reports claiming to have drawn its information from the outcome of the meeting of an Ad Hoc Committee of the House of Representatives had accused DPR of failing to remit the said amount from 2011-2014.
But in a statement, the agency said: “While the Department holds the institution of the legislature with very high esteem, it has become necessary for us to make clarifications on the allegations made in the publication which is capable of creating negative impression in the minds of the general public.
“It is imperative to state that the allegations raised in the various publications were erroneous and misleading”.
DPR said it does not physically collect royalty payments or other forms of revenue on behalf of government and neither does it remit payments or keep accounts in this respect, adding: “The Department ensures that all royalty payments and other accruable revenues to government are paid directly into the Federation Account by all the operating companies or equity holders in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry”.
Similarly, it refuted accusation of maintaining secret account either singularly or in conjunction with any other parastatal of government.
“All revenue accruable as a result of the Department’s supervisory and regulatory functions are paid into the Federation Account with CBN, which is managed by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF),” it said in the statement.
It described as “inaccurate”, the claim that $10.2 million was received in April 2011 by DPR as royalties from an operating company.
