NLNG doesn’t owe FG $15.8bn –NEITI

The Nigeria Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has clarified that it never accused the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) company of owing the Federal Government $15.8 billion being the government’s dividends share from the NLNG venture.

The agency in a statement explained that a House of Representatives ad hoc committee had last week invited NEITI to its public hearing on an alleged $17 billion undeclared crude oil and liquefied natural gas exports after which it was misquoted by certain publications on the facts it presented to the committee.

The agency said it was wrong and misleading to have reported that NLNG owed the federation or that money not accounted for was stolen.

The facts as presented to the committee by its Executive Secretary, Mr. Waziri Adio, who identified the major sources of revenue losses to the federation, were that while “The NNPC, as custodian of Nigeria’s shares in the NLNG, received Nigeria’s share of NLNG dividends paid to the corporation for 15 years amounting to $15.8 billion between years 2000 and 2014,” NNPC failed to remit the proceeds to either the Federation Account or the federal government.

“From the presentation, NLNG paid the dividends to NNPC but NEITI has no evidence that NNPC remitted the funds to the Federation Account. It is therefore incorrect to report, as some publications did, that NLNG owes the federation,” NEITI said.