N1trn Loot: Senate Summons NEITI’s Scribe

Following stunning revelation of over N1trillion oil revenue allegedly stolen from 2005 – 2013 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which was reflected in the audit report presented to the Senate President on Monday, the Senate, yesterday, invited the Executive Secretary of NEITI to formally present the said report to the plenary.
In a motion sponsored by Senator Tijjani Yahaya Kaura (APC), Zamfara North, he called on the Senate to urgently look into the report.
In his lead debate, Yahaya submitted that: “Report of financial activities in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry showed that the nation made $58. 07billion from hydrocarbons in 2013, while the sum of N33.86 billion was realised from solid minerals sector in 2013.”
He added that, “the sum of $3.8billion and N358.3billion stand as outstanding revenues from the NNPC and its subsidiaries in 2013, which were dues from unpaid consideration from divested oil mining leases.”
More worrisome, he added, was the non-remittances by NNPC of the sum of $12.9 billion which was paid by the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) to the federation account between 2005-2013.
In his inference from the NEITI report, Yahaya described as outright theft of the sum of $5.966billion and N20.4billion of Offshore Processing Agreement involving NNPC in its crude oil swap transaction.
He further disclosed that the NNPC introduced different pricing methodology which aided major oil and gas companies to under-pay royalties and profit taxes into the federation account, noting that it was time for the Senate to fight in-house conspiracy to save the nation from financial paucity.
Contributing, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu, suggested that the executive secretary of NEITI be made to formally present the report at plenary.