The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has refuted a statement credited to Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, that it owes the Federation Accounts N2.3 trillion.

The NNPC Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Tumini Green, said in a statement yesterday that the corporation was dismayed at what he described as the increasing unwarranted and unfounded accusations against it by otherwise informed persons in the polity.

Green described Oshiomhole’s statement as an unfortunate attack, adding that “it is part of a sustained campaign against the corporation and its leadership in recent times, which aims at distracting it from the dogged pursuit of the transformation of the oil and gas industry for the general good of the nation”.

She said: “We wish to state without any equivocation that we do not owe the Federation Accounts any money as at today, taking into account outstanding subsidies and other associated costs of operations and loses. We have consistently paid all monies due to the FA into its Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, account as we receive them.”

According to her, not all revenues collected by NNPC are paid directly into the accounts of FA with the CBN; some are paid into the accounts of the relevant government agencies, like the Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, and the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, with the CBN. But eventually all these payments are credited to the accounts of the FAAC.

Green said another important issue which was not taken into account by critics reeling out figures without cross-checking, was the outstanding debts owed NNPC by the Federal Government, especially from subsidy.

She said: “Nigerians may wish to recall that in the wake of January 2012 subsidy saga, there was no budgetary provision for subsidy to NNPC and again in 2013 there was no budgetary provision for subsidy to the corporation.

“NNPC has not received one kobo from the Federal Government in the name of fuel subsidy. Yet, Nigerians also know that NNPC has been the major supplier of petroleum products to the nation during this period and before.

“Indeed, for the whole period that the subsidy saga continued, NNPC was the sole supplier of PMS across the country, and we never failed to ensure that every nook and corner of Nigeria was wet with PMS.”


SOURCE: www.nationalmirroronline.net/new/nnpc-not-owing-faac-n2-3trn/

Hmmmmmmmm, Oro yii soo sini lenu, otun buyo si