By Hadiza Suleman
The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN), Friday, said corruption allegations against the the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) were untrue.
Recall that the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) claimed there was missing $2.04bn and N164bn in oil revenues.
The executive director of NCSCN, Comrade Blessing Akinlosotu, told newsmen in Abuja that the group conducted investigations, which exonerated NNPCL.
Quoting him, “Right from the days of NNPC till this era of metamorphosis to a largely private sector driven business organization, the NNPCL carries a negative public image of corruption and distrust by the Nigerian masses, being bombarded with several accusations.
“Upon receipt of complaints from some of the affiliate members of the Civil Society Council, we embarked upon independent fact-finding missions which included interactions with both the accusers and the accused, leading to discoveries and authentic records of the various issues raised. We hereby itemize some of the major accusations and contentious matters with the outcomes of our enquiries.
“The leadership of NCSCN had a very thorough interface with the management of the NNPCL, calling for relevant books of accounts, while critical questions were asked.
“The tedious and non-manipulated mission revealed that of 2020 NNPCL was not yet in existence at that time in question, NNPC was the established existence and NAPIMS was in charge of the business arm. NNPCL was just incorporated in September 2021 and formally unveiled on July 19, 2022.
“The management of NNPCL presented to us the original Audited Account of NNPC which was found free of any verifiable fraud. NAPIMS is now scrapped, and the transition from NNPC to NNPCL proper stock-taking and auditees were conducted and made public, hence, the alleged missing funding is unfounded and unsubstantial even in the said AGF Report.
“NCSCN will make records available to members in our planned National Civil Society Conversation on the Petroleum Industry and PIA by next month where this issue shall be laid to rest once and for all among the Civil Society Community. We can boldly assert that the missing fund does not exist in the books and records unless there are other documents available outside all the official Audit Records.
“It is discovered that under the present administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and new dispensation of the NNPCL, payments for oil transactions are made directly to the Central Bank, hence, the company is responsible for operational and administrative activities of crude oil transactions, while the CBN handles the financial end.
“Hence CBN does not see or manage crude oil, and NNPCL does not see or handle cash, therefore, making it almost impossible for the NNPCL to misappropriate what it does not manage in the first instance. The records of oil sales and purchases are recorded and accounted for by the CBN records.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is a different entity, in structures, operations and philosophies from the defunct Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); even though no public institution in Nigeria today can be exonerated or given a 100 pee cent clean Bill of Health forensically in terms of corruption and bad eggs, yet we make bold to assert, without fear of contradictions or condemnations, that almost all the allegations levelled against the
management of the NNPCL so far are unfounded and misrepresentations of facts and figures, going by verified evidence before the council”.
He warned media practitioners against activities of mischief-makers. According to him, “Some mischief-makers have taken advantage of the negative records and maladministration in the defunct Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to continuously smear the image and blackmail the current management of the NNPCL that is determined to salvage our Petroleum Industry.
“In the same vein, we call on the operators of the Media Industry to eschew unnecessary sensationalism, and instead deploy more professionalism in carrying out their highly sensitive and sacred responsibility of information dissemination.”
