NNPC spends N966bn on pipeline repairs in 6 years

NNPC spends N966bn on pipeline repairs in 6 years

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has explained that it spent N966 billion to repair pipelines between 2010 and 2015.

NNPC stated this in response to the query raised in the 2016 report of the Auditor General for the Federation (AuGF)

The Chairman of the Senate Public Account Committee, Senator Mathew Urhoghide, is currently scrutinising the AuGF report.

The Senate panel insisted that the NNPC had a case to answer on why it allegedly failed to remit N4 trillion into the federation account as contained in the AuGF report.

Part of the AuGF report read, “It was observed from the examination of NNPC report to Technical Sub- Committee of the Federation Account Allocation Committee meeting held in December 2016 that a cumulative total of N4.08 trillion remained unremitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC as at 31st December 2016.

“The total revenue unremitted as at 1st January 2016 from amounts payable into the Federation Account by NNPC was N3.88 trillion.

“The sum of N1,198,138,355,860.30 was due in revenue to the Federation Account out of the total generated in 2016. However, the NNPC paid the sum of N1,000,545,058,966.20 resulting in an amount withheld of N197,593,296,894.02.

“This brought the total amount withheld by the NNPC from the Federation Account as of 31 December 2016 to N4,076,548,336,749.75.”

However, the NNPC in its written response to the committee claimed that ‘the unremitted N4tn was arrived at without taking cognisance the subsidy and pipeline repairs and management associated with domestic crude oil transaction’.

The NNPC said, “Subsidy approved and certified by Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) from 2010 to 2015 stood at N4 trillion.

“Also in 2016, PMS under recovery stood at the N28.6 billion which brings the total subsidy /PMS under recovery to N4 trillion.

“Aside the above, pipeline repairs and products losses so incurred stood at N966 billion for the same period.”

The Chairman of the Senate panel had said that the NNPC must appear before the Senate Committee this week to give clarification on the issue raised in the AuGF report concerning the N4 trillion unremitted into the federation account.