Florence Sadiku
THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) has discountenanced reports of its indebtedness to the tune of Six Billion, Eight Hundred Million Dollars ($6.800,000,000.00) as well as non-remittance of revenues to the Federation Account since January 2024.
The company, in a statement by Olufemi Soneye,
Chief Corporate Communications Officer, stressed that it does not owe the said sum to any international trader(s).
Explaining further, the oil giant, said in the oil trading business, transactions are carried out on credit, and so it is normal to owe at one point or the other. “But NNPC Ltd., through its subsidiary, NNPC Trading, has many open trade credit lines from several traders”, noting further that the company is paying its obligations of related invoices on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis.
On the issue of non-remittance to the Federation Account since January. The company says nothing can be farther from the truth. According to it, NNPC Ltd. and all its subsidiaries remit their taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regularly. “This is in addition to payments of CIT to road contractors under the Road Investment Tax Credit Scheme.
“In all, NNPC Ltd. is the largest contributor to the tax revenue shared every month at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
“On the issue of quality/quantity fiscalization of imported petroleum products, NNPC Ltd. has no role whatsoever as it is not a regulator. The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), which is the relevant regulatory agency in charge of such issues, is an independent body and does not report to the NNPC Ltd.”
It further stated that it is not averse to inquiries by the media into issues on and around its operations before dissemination to the public either through the print or electronic channels of communication as the company will, “always, gladly take the opportunities to state the facts of the subject matter(s).
“This is in line with the company’s commitment to the Transparency, Accountability, and Performance Excellence (TAPE) philosophy as emplaced by the Mele Kyari-led management since stepping into the saddle in 2019”, it emphasized.
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