NNPC, others fail to remit N8trn - NEC

The National Economic Council yesterday said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and 15 other revenuegenerating agencies under remitted $21 billion and N526 billion to the Federation Account.

This, the council from 2010 to 2015.

Also indicted were the Nigerian Customs Service, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, the Nigerian Customs Service, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation and the Nigerian Port Authority.

Gombe State Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo, who briefed State House reporters after the NEC meeting chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, said the council adopted the final report of the KPMG audit of revenue-generating agencies said, was submitted to committee.

Dankwambo said the council had mandated KPMG to extend the forensic audit to June 2017.

“KPMG presented the report of the technical audit of RGAs concluding that a total sum of N526 billion and USD$21 billion was under-paid to the Federation Account.

“NEC’s ad-hoc Committee chaired by Gombe State Governor with members including Governors of Edo, Kaduna, Akwa Ibom, Lagos and the Finance Minister recommended refund of the amounts under-paid.

“Council adopted the presentations and reports of the KPMG and the recommendations of its Adhoc Committee including a resolution to identify instances where there appears to have been criminal infringements and forward such to the Attorney-General of the Federation and the Legal Committee of the NEC for the NEC ad-hoc further action,” he said.

The governor said the council resolved to pursue strengthening of the NNPC governance structure with a view to preventing further recurrence of such gross underremittance by the corporation and other revenue-generating agencies. how much should be paid as fuel subsidy.

The governor said the issue was referred to a subcommittee of the council which he chaired.

“Don’t forget that the reason we got it right in 2016 on the NNPC side was because the oil prices were too low. It was easy for everyone to get fuel into the country and then make profit.

“So, when the price started jerking up, then the marketers started adjusting back because they need to have a template of cost recovery and how they are going to make up the difference from the pump price to the landing cost of what they are importing.

“Our problem is the volume, the quantity of consumption, which is not acceptable. Working with the governors, so many decisions were taken, but by next month, we are going to adopt that position either for the governors to take responsibility for the subsidy in their states based on the consumption or we look at other ways.

“For instance, if you say we paid N800 billion subsidy, you will ask who are we paying the subsidy to? And if you look at infrastructure development and capital programme of the federal government, it is about N1.1 trillion, almost 70 percent of what you are spending developing the economy. If there is no infrastructure development, then you cannot talk about development of the economy.

“N800 billion is a huge amount that we must look at it, who is benefiting from it. So we are coming up with a strategy, we are going to meet in the month of May and June.

“By next meeting, we will definitely come up with a position of the government at both level of volume of what is being brought into the country and what the state and federal government collaborate to check,” Yari said.