Non-remittance of $49.8bn: NNPC refutes CBN claim (It has been embezzled)

Posted by admin CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria), Latest Politics, Oil Politics Wednesday, December 11th, 2013

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has refuted reports credited to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, alleging that it withheld the sum of $49.8bn representing 76 per cent of the total crude oil revenues from January 2012 to July 2013.

In a statement signed by the General Manager, Media Relations Department of the NNPC, Dr Omar Farouk Ibrahim, and made available to the press, the Corporation clarified that the allegation was borne out of misunderstanding of the workings of the oil and gas industry and the modality for remitting crude oil sales revenue into the Federation Account.

“For the avoidance of doubt, it needs to be stated that the figure of 594.024 million barrels of crude oil given by the CBN as the total crude oil lifting for the period of January 2012 to July 2013 does not represent the correct picture of crude oil lifting for the period. From our records, the correct figure is 618.55 million barrels. This shows that the CBN understated the actual crude lifting by 4.13 per cent,” Dr Ibrahim stated.

He explained that revenue from crude oil liftings were in various categories, namely Equity Crude; Petroleum Profit Tax, Royalty, Third Party Financing and the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC). Revenues from each of these categories were statutorily collected by different agencies of the government.

“The NNPC collects only one of the aforementioned categories, namely Equity Crude. Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT) is collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); royalty goes to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Third Party financing goes for research, development, programme and satellite fields development, while NPDC goes to NPDC for upstream development.

“While NNPC pays proceeds from Equity crude directly to the Federation Account with the CBN, the FIRS and DPR pay PPT and Royalty respectively into the Federation Account with the CBN. The sum total of these proceeds make up the alleged unremitted revenues, Dr Ibrahim stated.

“The 24 per cent of total crude oil revenue receipts which the CBN governor is reported to have acknowledged that NNPC remitted represents the proceeds from the equity lifting which NNPC is directly responsible for. The alleged unremitted 76 per cent was paid to the agencies that are statutorily empowered to receive them for onward remittance into the Federation Account”, Dr Ibrahim explained.

He stressed the need for institutions of the Federal Government and top government functionaries to seek understanding of issues that were not clear to them from relevant agencies rather than go public with misleading information capable of creating public disaffection.

He expressed NNPC’s availability at all times to meet with all relevant stakeholders to clarify issues.

-Guadianwp_posts