HOW NNPC FAILED TO REMIT OVER N1.3trn INTO FED GOVT ACCOUNT..NEITI

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries failed to remit $3.8bn and N358.3bn (N1.1tr) oil revenues that should have gone to the government treasury in 2013, the Nigeria Extractive Industries and Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said in a latest audit report.

The report also revealed that $12.9bn (N2.5tr) payments to the NNPC by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) between 2005 and 2013 were not forwarded by NNPC to the federal government.

The audit which covered transactions in the oil, gas and solid minerals sectors for 2013, was unveiled by the Minister of Solid Minerals and Chairman of the NEITI board, Kayode Fayemi in Abuja yesterday.

A total of N1.3tr which was 26% of the country’s N4.987tr 2013 budget was processed as subsidy payments for the NNPC and independent marketers that year, the audit revealed.

Giving a breakdown of the audit, Fayemi said Nigeria earned $58.07 bn as revenue from crude sales, taxes, royalties and other incomes in 2013. However, part of the $58.07 billion that should have gone to the federation was not released or got lost due to many reasons.

These revenues, according to the minister, totalled $3.8bn and N358.3bn which were outstanding revenues from the NNPC and its sub units in 2013.

Fayemi said $5.966bn and N20.4bn could not make it to the federal purse.

$599.8m was also lost as a result of under-payments of petroleum profit taxes and royalties by oil and gas companies as a result of the use of different pricing methodology by the government and the oil companies.

The audit also revealed that NLNG paid the $1.289 bn as dividends, interests and loan repayments in 2013.

NNPC spokesman, Garba Deen Muhammed, was not available for comments before press time yesterday.