The Central Bank Governor (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, today informed the Senator Ahmed Makarfi led Committee on Finance investigating the allegations of unremitted funds into the Federation Account that out of the $67 billion crude oil sales that was processed and expected to be remitted to the constitutionally provided for accounts;  only $47 billion has since been reconciled between the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and the CBN. 

The issue of the alleged NNPC unremitted funds continues to generate a lot of concern and shock in Nigeria, brought to the public attention courtesy of a leaked letter from the CBN Governor to the President; and the basis of this continuing investigation at the reconvened session of the Senate committee on Finance, investigating the matters arising from this revelation. 

Originator of this letter, CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido at an open hearing session, attended by the various related agencies like the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEiTI), Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Ministry of Finance (MoF) and  the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), spoke on the issue of accountability expected from the State Oil company with relation to proceeds from crude oil sales and the fact that despite the reconciliations, $20bl is still missing from the federation account.

He questions the unremitted funds from NNPC transactions with the NPDC, its claim on kerosene subsidy even when a Presidential directive halted  same since 2009. 

Meanwhile, the NNPC has responded to this new charge. 

According to the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who briefed journalists after the meeting that the NNPC was still reconciling its records and that it was at the point of conclusion of the reconciliation process with the various agencies involved; after which a submission would be made to the committee and Nigerians.

“The NNPC did a presentation. We have all agreed earlier that $14bn out of the $67bn dollars they shipped came in to the dollar account of the federation. That is agreed.

“We have looked at the Federal Inland Revenue Service numbers and we have confirmed that $16bn paid by international oil companies to the FIRS account was not paid by the NNPC but paid by IOCs.

“It was the proceeds of crude lifted in the name of NNPC but sold on behalf of FIRS. That $16bn had been confirmed by FIRS and had accepted. There is $1.6bn dollars that the Department of Petroleum Resources also received from IOCs which was part of that crude and which CBN had accepted.

“We have provided evidence in the naira crude account out of the $28bn domestic crude shipped by the NNPC, it had repartriated $16bn. Out of the $67bn that has acrued to the NNPC account we have accounted for $47bn.

“That is, out of the $67 bn dollars that the NNPC shipped, $47bn had been repatriated to the CBN. What we are talking about is the balance of the $20bn and what explanations had been given .” 

Sanusi told the committee that the NNPC had said some of it does not belong to the federation account so, but that it had established that some of the crude shipped by the NPDC was shipped from oil wells that belonged to the federation. He also accused the NNPC of transferring revenues that should go to the federation account for remittance. 

“I have given free legal opinion to this committee, on the unconstitutionality and illegality of that transaction. Secondly, NNPC had explained that 80 percent of that money yet to be repatriated, on kerosene and fuel subsidy.

“I have submitted to this committee, written evidence of a presidential directive eliminating subsidy since 2009, and NNPC needs to provide its authority for buying kerosene at N150 and from the federation account and selling at N40 and inflicting that loss on the federation.

“NNPC had also said that it is DPR but for us in the CBN, every month, NNPC sends report for the FAAC. And every month NNPC indicates how much it has deducted as PMS subsidy.

“From April 2012 to date, NNPC had submitted reports to the FAAC consistently showing it is deducting nothing from PMS so we are surprised that having submitted nil returns since April 2012 we are now being told now that deductions were being made.

” I don’t know whether they were made and whether the DPR had approved them. We are waiting for the reconciliation with the PPRA.The other part of third party financing which were not appropriated had no documentation or proofs.

“All we have said as CBN to which there is no disagreement is that NNPC shipped $67bn worth of crude they have repatriated or we have established that $47bn has come back to the federation.

“There is a $20bn that has not come back to us. The burden of proof is on NNPC We have made suggestions that can help to answer some of the explanation and we believe that even some of that which they claimed were shipped by NPDC does not belong to the NPDC but to the federation.”  

Source: Proshare