NNPC failed to remit N368bn in 9 years; Oil lifting granted companies without due process - Monies paid to non-existent companies - NNPC paid self $50

Idowu Samuel, Abuja - 12.06.2009

THE Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit N368 billion to the Federation Account between 1999 and 2008, a House of Representatives committee probing the corporation was told on Thursday.

An accounting firm, was, however, blamed by the ad hoc committee for allegedly colluding with top officials of the NNPC by failing to properly scrutinise the NNPC account to prevent the fraud.

The House, therefore, directed the accounting firm to appear before the probe panel at its next sitting to testify on the whereabouts of the sum said to be connected with deals with some oil companies which benefitted from oil importation during the years under review.

The committee equally frowned on the allocation of 1,500,000 metric tonnes of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) to four indigenous oil companies by the NNPC between September 2002 and February 2003 at hugely discounted prices, which it noted, would have fetched the Federal Government N17 billion.

The companies were said to have got the allocation to lift the LPFO, used mainly for industrial purposes, without due process while they were alleged to have defrauded the country to the tune of N17 billion by selling the product at the international market after buying the same from NNPC at subsidised rate.

The probe panel asked the NNPC to explain reasons behind its resolve to pay the $25.6 million to Texaco Oil as performance balance for the period of 1999 and 2005, whereas the oil company was never one of its joint venture partners.

It equally queried the NNPC for paying cash call totalling $5.7 million in 2000, and $11.2 million in 2002 to Palm Ocean Oil, whereas the oil company did not operate as its joint venture partner within the period.



The committee also asked the NNPC to explain reason it paid $31.6 million to a company known as NNPC Crude Oil and Gas, also as performance balance in 2002, contending that since no such company existed, the corporation, for no reason, deliberately paid itself the money.

The committee also accused NNPC of paying $50.2 million to itself in 2008 as performance balance for 2002 and 2005, a disclosure which it said was made by the Group Managing Director of the company, Abdullahi Barkindo, who had earlier given his testimony.

The NNPC in 2008, according to the committee, listed six oil companies as those it would want to work with, in a joint venture arrangement, but later came up with eight companies to which it eventually made scheduled payment of transaction, alleging that the extra two companies, NPDC and NAPIC, did not deserve to receive any payment from the corporation.