19 March 2013, Abuja – Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance, Abdulmumuni Jibrin, said that the 16 subsidiaries of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, subsidiaries that appeared before his committee, Monday, could not present their financial details as rquested by the Committee.
“None of the subsidiaries of NNPC that appeared at the session yesterday (Monday) could present before the Committee the requested financial details of their various companies,” Jibrin said.
The NNPC made an internally generated revenue, IGR, of N6 trillion between 2009 and 2012, but refused to remit N142 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund, CRF, as demanded by the Fiscal Respinsiblity Act, FRA, 2007.
During the resumed investigative hearing on the matter in Abuja, Monday, the House Finance Committee maintained that the financial records presented by the NNPC on behalf of its subsidiaries were not satisfactory to the Committee.
Jibrin said separate accounts of the subsidiaries would have to be scrutinised.
NNPC’s Group Executive Director (Finance and Accounts), Benard Otti, had earlier told the Committee that the entire subsidiaries have no separate accounts of their own.
“Accounts of the subsidiaries are consolidated with that of the NNPC. There is only one account, there is no different account for the subsidiaries,” said.
NNPC’s Legal Adviser, Anthony Madichie, pointed out that the subsidiaries were set up by the NNPC, adding that the law that established the Corporation talked abut NNPC account and not the subsidiaries’ account.
But, the committee faulted that stand, with the chairman reminding that the committee is constitutionally empowered to carry out oversight functions and in this case, since the records of the NNPC was questionable, the Committee was duty-bound to ascertain the facts.
