Again, the Senate Committee on Public Account has summoned the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation over non-remmittance of N4.07 trillion to the Federation account between 2010 and 2016.
The Committee also summoned the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory (PPPRA) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) regarding the query from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation against the agencies.
The nation’s oil company had appeared before the Committee chaired by Senator Mathew Urhoghide last two weeks to explain that the N4.07 trillion in question was expended on oil pipelines repairs , domestic fuel supplies which were heavily subsidized , security and management matters .
The Committee, however, asked the NNPC to provide it with the required details within a week , upon which the query would be vacated or sustained.
But the Chairman of the Committee while speaking on the matter said that although the NNPC had submitted the required documents to the committee, the oil corporation still needs to appear before the Committee to give oral evidence and defend some of the things in the document.
According to him, NNPC needs to come before the committee to make further clarification.
The NNPC is expected to appear before the Committee before Thursday this week, according to the Chairman of the Committee to give explanation.
The Office of the Auditor General had said, “It was observed from the examination of NNPC report to Technical Sub- Committee of Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting held in December 2016 that a cumulative total of N4,076,548,336,749.75 as summarized below and detailed remained unremitted to the Federation Account by NNPC as at 31st December 2016.
“The total revenue unremitted as at 1st January 2016 (see the table above) from amounts payable into the Federation Account by NNPC was ₦3,878,955,039,855.73 (not completed)
“The sum of N1,198,138,355,860.30 was due in revenue to the Federation Account out of the total generated in 2016, however, NNPC paid the sum of N1,000,545,058,966.20 resulting in an amount withheld of N197,593,296,894.02. This brought the total amount withheld by NNPC from the Federation Account as at 31 December 2016.”
But NNPC in written response to the Committee claimed that the unremitted N4 trillion was arrived at without taking cognizance of the subsidy and pipeline repairs and management associated with domestic crude oil transaction.
It said, “subsidy approved and certified by PPRA from 2010-2015 stood at N4 trillion. Also in 2016 OMS under recovery stood at N28.6 billion which brings the total unrecognized subsidy /PMS under recovery to N4 trillion.
“Aside the above, pipeline repairs and products losses so incurred stood at N966 billion for the same period.”