01 October 2013, Abuja – The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has dismissed the statement by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, saying there was no revenue shortfall to tune of N320.654 billion accruable to the federation and the figure could not have emanated from the corporation.
The committee’s chairman, Hon. Abdulmumin Jibrin, had on Sunday upbraided NNPC over the $20.9 billion the corporation said it generated on behalf of the federation from January to July this year, calling it a “ruse”.
He said Nigerians were not as keen on crude oil sales figures as the actual remittances from NNPC to the Federation Account, adding: “The amount remitted to the federal government is more important and NNPC should have been more honest to present the figures so that Nigerians can understand what actually accrued.”
Jibrin explained that for January to September 2013, the federation was expected to have earned N1.837 trillion (or N204.168 billion per month) from the sale of crude oil and gas marketed by the NNPC.
“It should be noted that this is after taking into consideration payments for Joint Venture Cash Calls (that is, cost of production) and petrol subsidy payments.
“However, only N1.516 trillion has been remitted to the government by the NNPC showing a shortfall of N320.654 billion for the period,” he said.
But NNPC, in a statement issued yesterday by its acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Department, Ms. Tumini Green, said the statement by Jibrin accusing the corporation of short-changing the Federation Account to the tune of N320.654 billion between January and September 2013, was untrue and the figure did not emanate from NNPC.
It added that the figure “only exists in the imagination of the peddler.” NNPC said its management has an unprecedented open-door policy and would have readily attended to the honourable member had he requested to be informed on the issues he raised.
“This can be attested to by the fact that the House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), one of the three committees responsible for oversight of NNPC was at the corporation’s corporate headquarters on Thursday, September 26, 2013, where NNPC management presented all the facts relating to our oil production and sales to them.
“Members of the committee sought clarifications on a number of issues and were pleased with the explanations given. The committee indeed commended NNPC Management for its openness and unprecedented disclosure of information on its operations and activities.
“We note that the said member of the House of Representatives was not on that delegation. We consider it rather unfortunate that the legislator has decided to disseminate figures that are not verified.
“We note that the statement by the member of the House was particularly personal and targeted at the person of the Hon. Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke. We thought our leaders should focus on issues and not personalities.
“We wish to reiterate that NNPC’s records are constantly scrutinised by committees of both chambers of the National Assembly, NEITI, and external auditors.
“The corporation is at all times available to provide information to stakeholders and members of the public,” it stated.
– This Day
