NNPC Continues To Dupe Nigeria – Governors Lament

In what has become their routine song of despair, the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) has again accused the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of scamming the country in its monthly revenue remittances to the Federation Account.

The NGF Chairman and Zamfara State Governor,  Abdulaziz Yari, delivered the scathing accusation while presenting the Forum’s complaints to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday.

Accompanied by Governor Aminu Masari of Katsina; Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna;Governor Simon Lalong of Plateau; and Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom to see the President on behalf of the National Economic Council (NEC), the NGF Chairman lamented that a seven-member committee set up to engage NNPC on the shortfall and low fund returns to the Federation Account met with the Corporation to resolve all contentious issues.

He explained that the NEC’ s Committee, headed by him, was set up to chart the way forward by addressing all outstanding issues, particularly concerning monthly remittals to Federation Account as statutorily required but has so far achieved little success.

According to him, “Yesterday, the seven-man committee sat with the NNPC group and then today we came to brief President about it”, noting that the payment of joint venture cash call receipts indicates that what is being remitted to the Federal Account for the entire people of Nigeria is completely below expectations.

“What is being paid as a result, as cash call, is higher than what is going to the federation account, and NEC is concerned about that’’, Governor said

Insisting that the issues being raised about the poor remittances are not just about the 36 states alone but the entire country, the NGF Chairman said; “We are not saying that we are being short changed as governors or as a state. But the entire federation is being short changed by these activities.”

Governor Yari, who gave further insights on the issues, stated that the oil Corporation is hinging its reasons for the routine revenue shortfall on the fact that since 2010 when the oil price stood at $110 per barrel up to where the President (Buhari) took over in 2015, no payment of joint venture cash call was made into the Federation Account.

He said NNPC’s explanation is that their remittals  to the Federation Account is always low because they are now paying twice; paying the existing obligations and at the same time taking care of the arrears, adding; “So we sat down with them to fine-tune how best we are going to get the partners to understand where we are”.

The Zamfara Chief Executive said the NGF’s position has become imperative given that the global oil price is gradually improving, stressing that with the oil prices becoming fairly good and the country slightly out of recession, it is important to sustain the tempo in retaining improved gross earnings.

The Nigerian oil giant has over the years been regularly tainted by accusations of failed or withheld remittances from proceeds of its operations to the Federation Accounts.

At some point in the life of the President Buhari-led administration, the Corporation was accused of rebuffing requests from relevant authorities, the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) and the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) to remit to the total $528,093,716.77 to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) account in line with the presidential directives on the Treasury Single Account (TSA).

The NGF’s outcry is the latest in the claims by many credible organizations, including Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), that the NNPC has not only consistently ignored relevant queries raised by appropriate offices but also flouted extant financial rules that can make for transparency in the management of public finances.

Like many other voices, NEITI has also sustained its call for NNPC’s unbundling, noting that such moves would help curb corruption in the nation’s oil and gas industry.