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Corruption in NNPC undermining states’ revenue – Amaechi

By BusinessNews Staff on October 11, 2014

Rivers State Governor, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, has said the level of corruption at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was the cause of the dwindling resources of state governments in the country.

Amaechi spoke yesterday in a live radio special interview programme on Radio Rivers monitored in Port Harcourt.

He alleged that there was ongoing stealing of public funds from the coffers of the NNPC, stating that corruption rather than oil theft was the reason for the shortfall in revenue.

Amaechi said: “The fact that our oil wells have been given to Bayelsa, in Soku and Abia, in Etche, it will naturally bring down our revenue. But beyond that is the fact the stealing going on in NNPC. The president is talking about oil theft; what quantity of oil can they steal that will bring down revenue from N25 billion to N12 billion? So, the stealing is more in NNPC.

“This magazine, Forbes rated our president as the sixth richest President in Africa and he is denying it. Forbes is not a gossip magazine, it is what they see that they present to the public. This is the first time someone is denying his ranking in the magazine. People are saying I am abusing the president, I have never abused him. The only thing is that I state the facts the way they are. Forbes published that our president is the sixth richest African president, it is not Amaechi.

“Oil theft is a different thing and the stealing going on in NNPC is a different thing. Corruption in NNPC is undermining the revenue the states are getting. Our corruption index has gone down by nine points; so all the gains we made under Obasanjo have disappeared. We are now known as one of the worst corrupt countries in the world.”

He, however, said Rivers State was not broke despite the decrease in funds allocated to states from the federation account, adding that he could not go borrowing to pay salaries of civil servants in the state.

“The problem we have is that the federal government, out of outright stealing from NNPC is not able to pay to the states the required funds the states are entitled to; to enable them not only pay salaries but to run state affairs. We are going back to the Shagari days when they owe everybody. The only reason we have not gotten there is because the governors are very ingenious: they are doing everything to ensure they can pay salaries, but some states cannot pay. Wait, election is coming and the opposition will begin to publish their names.”

[This Day]

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