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Reps fault NNPC over non-payment of N142billion

By on May 23, 2013

Members of the House of Representatives today, Thursday, expressed displeasure over the failure of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ((NNPC) to remit the sum of N142 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as provided by the law.

The Corporation, which realised whopping sum of N6 trillion between 2009 and 2012 allegedly decline to comply with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), 2007.

Worried by the development, the lawmakers including Parry Iriase, who accused the Corporation of sabotaging ongoing investigation and submission of the report to the House, chided NNPC management team for jettisoning the exercise.

While reacting to the development, Abdulmumin Jibrin, Chairman House Committee on Finance chided the NNPC management team for adopting time-wasting tactics.

He said “this exercise is not about the NNPC but the subsidiaries that are generating the revenue and have been making profit. Out of the 17 subsidiaries, it is only five that has not been making profit and we want to know how the profit of the others are being spent since NNPC has been saying that it has never operated on surplus.

“Unfortunately this delay is affecting the submission of the report of this investigation, we investigated 60 agencies and all of them have responded, it is only NNPC that is remaining.

“It is the opinion of this Committee that the wrong impression the NNPC is having is that they forgot that the Committee is constitutionally empowered to request for documents to aid its investigation from any entity considered necessary.

“We can decide to request for information even from a unit within the NNPC and they must oblige as stipulated by the constitution. Nigerians even need to know the workings of the NNPC and all we are doing is to see how we can assist the corporation in blocking all leakages so that the revenue base of the government can be lifted.”

Speaking earlier, Bernard Otti, NNPC Group Executive Director (Finance), who was accompanied by three other management staff explained that the delay in coming up with the presentation was as a result of the absence of the officer in charge, whom he said has been out of the country for about a week.

On the absence of the Group Managing Director at the meeting, Otti explained Yakubu had another engagement elsewhere, and pleaded for two weeks extension.