5th January, 2014
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has dismissed the claim that the sum of $10.8billion, out of the alleged unremitted $49.8 billion crude oil fund, was missing.
Rather the corporation said that the money has been spent on the various services it renders for the government, such as “the unpaid subsidies on kerosene and premium motor spirit (PMS), bulk importation of the PMS and the maintenance of national strategic reserves for petroleum products.”
In a statement issued in Abuja today, Dr. Omar Ibrahim, the GM Public Affairs Division of the corporation also listed the repairing and maintenance of vandalised pipelines, as some of the responsibilities of the NNPC, for which the billions have been applied..
“The corporation is left to bear these responsibilities on behalf of the Federal Government, the cost incurred in this mandate is also part of the $10.8 billion yet-to-be-reconciled outstanding figure,” Ibrahim said.
Ibrahim stated that the issues surrounding the allegation of unremitted $49.8billion against the NNPC, was explained last December at a joint press conference by NNPC, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Ministry of Finance, and Ministry of Petroleum Resources.
“There was no where it was admitted by any of the parties in the course of the press conference, that the sum of $12billion or $10.8billion, out of the alleged unremitted $49.8billion, is missing,” he said.
“The truth of the matter is that as at the time of the press conference, $30 billion of the alleged unremitted oil revenue, had been reconciled by all the parties involved.
“Dr Okonjo-Iweala, Coordinating Minister of the Economy did explain that the reconciliation was an ongoing process and that the balance of $10.8billion is still being reconciled,” the statement said.
NNPC added that at no time did anybody, neither the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, nor Malam Lamido Sanusi, CBN Governor, say that the outstanding $10.8billion was missing.
The statement said it was also pertinent to further clarify that NNPC, as a national oil company, was saddled with certain onerous responsibilities that other oil companies were freed from.
“For instance, as the supplier of last resort, NNPC has the responsibility of ensuring that there is adequate supply of petroleum products, whether the market is favourable or not.
“The corporation is left to bear these responsibilities on behalf of the Federal Government, the cost incurred in this mandate is also part of the $10.8 billion yet-to-be-reconciled outstanding figure,” it stated.
Ibrahim added that all the parties involved in the reconciliation process, were aware of these facts, adding that the figures were being thoroughly scrutinised.
NNPC further stated that at the end of the day, the parties would make their findings public as they did last time.
“It is therefore incorrect for anyone to continue to misinform the public that the sum of $10.8billion or $12billion of oil revenue, is missing,” the statement added.
Read the report of the account reconciliation committee here:Text of a Press Conference by the Minister of Finance