The Special Presidential Investigative Panel for the Recovery of Public Property has lauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for its commitment to transparency and accountability.
The commendation came after the NNPC addressed issues the panel raised regarding how the Corporation conducts its affairs.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Mele Kyari, had received the Chairman of the Presidential Panel, Chief Okoi Obono-Obla, at the NNPC Towers in Abuja on Monday, where the GMD addressed the panel’s enquiries on alleged financial breaches in the Corporation.
Kyari, while receiving Obono-Obla, restated NNPC’s commitment to transparency: “Every member of our Management shares the vision of Mr. President that Government’s institutions must be accountable to all Nigerians. We know that we will gain more by being more transparent. We have nothing to hide.”
The GMD was quoted to have said this by NNPC’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, in a statement late Monday.
Ughamadu said Kyari responded to the panel’s enquiry on the alleged underpayment of lease renewal fees on Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 67, 68, and 70 by ExxonMobil
The new NNPC GMD clarified that ExxonMobil paid $600m which he said was their equity contribution of 40% of the Joint venture agreement after which NNPC was to pay the remaining 60% but it became unnecessary as it represented the government.
“Ordinarily, NNPC would have contributed the balance of 60% of the amount which literally meant government paying monies to itself. There was no need for that,” he said.
Kyari also addressed NNPC’s alleged breach of government’s Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy, saying the Corporation has “no secret account.”
The GMD said, “there is no single account NNPC is operating that is unknown to the Federal Government. Any account(s) outside the TSA platform are partner accounts which we have obtained due approvals from the government.”
Kyari stressed that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) the Accountant General of the Federation remain managers of NNPC’s account as all monies belonging to the Corporation are being kept in the CBN.
Shedding more light on the alleged non-remittances of taxes and royalties by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), NNPC’s upstream arm, Mele Kyari stated there were outstanding payments which arose as a result of the pillage that occurred before 2015.
He, however, assured the Panel that this administration has made concerted efforts to reconcile every payment due to the Federation on taxes and royalties.
“The only outstanding payment is the $600m and we have a pre-payment plan with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) such that by mid-2020, we will have money left to be paid”, he noted.
On alleged non-remittances by some oil companies operating in the country, the NNPC boss said it was the responsibility of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) to collect taxes and royalties from oil companies, including those on Joint Venture (JV) and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement.
Kyari further noted that the NNPC would provide the necessary support to the agencies concerned in that regard though it has no legal obligation to do so. “As an enabler organization, we will support them because we see our roles beyond our immediate responsibility,” he said.
Kyari stated that NNPC remains the most accountable public institutions in the country: ‘’This is the only company that publishes its operations and financial reports monthly. I’m not aware of any company that does that in the world.”
In his remarks, Obono-Obla said the panel was satisfied with the clarification made by the GMD.
He commended NNPC’s “frank and honest responses on the issues raised, describing the Corporation “as a very important and transparent national institution with a GMD who has a track record of accountability and transparency in his public career.”
“The GMD has a reputation of being an apostle of accountability and transparency. I feel very happy that somebody like him is coming out to clarify the key issues. Nigerians have been misled, it behoves on every organization to tell Nigerians the truth to engender transparency in the entire polity,” Obono-Obla.