NNPC to Sanusi: You Lack Understanding of Crude Revenue Remittance

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Friday, December 13th, 2013

Muyiwa Bamidele, Abuja

The Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Eng. Andrew Yakubu has described the letter written by the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi to President Goodluck Jonathan on the missing $49 billion as a calculated attempt to ridicule the corporation.

CBN governor Sanusi Lamido

Engineer Yakubu made this known at a news conference in Abuja while he refuted all the claims made by Sanusi in his letter to the President.

The NNPC boss explained that the CBN Governor’s letter alleging missing of $49 billion oil money was due to his lack of understanding of how revenues from crude oil sales are remitted into the federation account.

He insisted that that corporation is not withholding any crude oil receipts due to the federation account.

His words:

“Proceeds from equity crude are paid by the NNPC into the Federation Account which is held by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Similarly, the proceeds from Tax oil or Petroleum Profit Tax lifted by NNPC is paid directly into the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) account also managed by the CBN.

“It should now be clear to all that NNPC is by statutory requirement responsible for direct remittances of only one stream of lifting, namely Equity Crude.”

“The allegation is unfounded. It is baseless and it has become a political instrument in the current politically charged environment. And we consider this as an attempt to ridicule NNPC and the management of NNPC.”

“When this issue came up about four months ago, we made our clarification to the Hon. Minister of Petroleum Resources. For it to surface at this time that the political atmosphere is charged, we are taken aback. It is left for you journalists to do your investigative journalism to unravel the reason behind this attack.”