Oscarline Onwuemenyi
30 December 2017, Sweetcrude, Abuja – The Senate on Friday disclosed that there is no $25 billion contract fraud in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
In a leaked memo, recently, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, had alleged lack of due process in the award of contracts valued at over $25 billion by the NNPC.
Disturbed by the allegation raised, the Senate set up an ad-hoc committee to probe the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, over the alleged award of contracts worth over $25 billion without due process.
The committee, headed by Senator Aliyu Wammako, is yet to submit its report.
However, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Petroleum Downstream, Senator Kabiru Marafa, while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Friday, said there is nothing like $25 billion contract fraud as widely reported.
According to Marafa, “There is no contract fraud anywhere. Part of the contract alleged to have been awarded were presented to the Federal Executive Council two weeks ago.”
Marafa also said the Federal Government between 2008 and 2016 spent over N10 trillion on petroleum subsidy paid to oil importers.
