EFCC Recovers N329bn From Oil Marketers
BY AMOS DUNIA, ABUJA – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Kano Office, says it has recovered about N329 billion from nine major oil marketers across the country.
It said the recovery was sequel to a petition against the leadership of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiary, the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC).
The anti-graft agency said the petition alleged that a whooping sum of N40billion had been diverted by the major oil marketers in connivance with the leadership of the NNPC and PPMC.
A statement by the spokesman of the Commission, Wilson Uwujaren, said the EFCC in a swift reaction referred the petition to a special task force who swung into action by conducting discrete investigation.
According to him; “Findings by the operatives of the EFCC revealed that the oil marketers were actually indebted to the Federal Government of Nigeria to the tune of N91,519,485,204.44 (Ninety One Billion, Five Hundred and Nineteen Million, Four Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand, Two Hundred and Four Naira, Forty Four Kobo) between 2010 and 2016.
“Further investigation into the allegation also revealed that the oil marketers had continued to obtain petroleum products from the government without proper payment, in violation of the NNPC/PPMC credit facility regulations; a probe of which further led to the discovery of N258,928,926,351.93 (Two Hundred and Fifty Eight Billion, Nine Hundred and Twenty Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty Six Thousand, Three Hundred Fifty One Naira, Ninety Three Kobo).
“Following the latter discovery, the total amount of debt stands at N349,818,411,556.37 (Three Hundred and Forty Nine Billion, Eight and Eighteen Million, Four Hundred and Eleven Thousand, Five Fifty Six Naira, Thirty Seven Kobo).
“Upon the conclusion of the preliminary investigation, officials of NNPC/PPMC and all the managing directors of the concerned companies which are NNPC retails , Conoil Plc, Total Plc, OVH Energy Plc, Oando Plc, Forte Oil and Gas Plc, Mobil Plc, MRS Oil Plc, and NIPCO Oil Plc were invited to the Kano Zonal Office of the Commission where their statements were recorded following which the recovery process commenced.”
Uwujaren further said that so far, the sum of N328,988,296,990.62 (Three hundred and twenty eight billion, nine hundred eighty eight million, two hundred and ninety six thousand, nine hundred and ninety Naira, sixty two Kobo) has been recovered from the major oil marketers.
According to him; “The outstanding debt now stands at N20,765,919,869.48 (Twenty Billion, Seven Hundred and Sixty Five Million, Nine Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Eight Hundred Sixty Nine Naira, Forty Eight Kobo).