The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has debunked a report claiming that it owes international oil traders $6.8 billion.
Responding to allegations against the company in a statement on Sunday, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Olufemi Soneye, also refuted claims that the NNPCL has not remitted funds into the federation account since January.
Soneye, however, acknowledged that it is normal to owe at one point or the other since the oil trading business, transactions are carried out on credit.
“But NNPC Ltd., through its subsidiary, NNPC Trading, has many open trade credit lines from several traders.
“The company is paying its obligations of related invoices on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis,” he said.
The statement added that “it is not correct to say that NNPC Ltd. has not remitted any money to the Federation Account since January. 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, Soneye said the NNPCL has no role whatsoever as it is not a regulator.
According to him, 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 NNPCL.
“NNPC Ltd. 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,” the statement added.