The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited is the subject of an investigation by an ad hoc committee established by the House of Representatives into allegations that company managers misappropriated and converted N20 billion under the pretense of paying consultants.
Despite the NNPCL’s denial of the claim, this is the case. According to NNPCL, it did not pay N20 billion to ghost consultants as claimed by an online publication (not The PUNCH). “NNPC Ltd read with utmost dismay, a report by an online platform alleging: paying the sum of N20bn to ghost consultants, and theft of multi-billion naira tax due to the Ogun State Government,” according to a statement released by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL, Garba-Deen Muhammad.
The second part of the aforementioned study, according to NNPC, dealt with Ogun State Government claiming a back duty tax liability of about N18bn, against an NNPC subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company Ltd. “For clarity, PPMC had objected and challenged the claim through its tax consultant.
Meanwhile, the House has also mandated the Niger Delta Development Commission to “put on hold” the release of N15bn counterpart funding requested by the Federal Government, pending the approval of the Commission’s budget by the House, as it is part of the loot recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on behalf of the Commission.