Why is the FG ignoring NEITI’s reports?

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (NEITI) has released its latest report, once more raising several issues in the management of the nation’s oil resources.

Once more, the report raised the issue of how the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has failed to remit a total of $16.8billion it earned as dividend for its 49 percent stake in the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) to the Federation Accounts in 16 years.

In 2015, NLNG paid $1.07 billion as dividend, interest and loan repayment to NNPC, broken down as follows: $1.04 billion as dividends, $3.1 million as interest, and $29.1 million as loan repayment. This brings to a total of $16.8 billion NLNG’s payments to NNPC for the period 2000 to 2015. The payments are for the loan grant to NLNG and for the 49% stake that the government holds in the company.

 The NNPC has always confirmed receipt of the payments, but it has never shown evidence of remittance to either the Federal Government or to the Federation Account, NEITI says in a statement.

The NNPC has in the past stated that it has authorisation from the presidency to hold the dividends in trust and utilise it as directed by the government.

This is not the first time the NEITI has raised issues around how the NNPC has managed dividends received from NLNG. It has consistently raised these issues in the last three years and despite the promise by the current administration to improve transparency in the oil and gas industry, the government has not sought to put the matter to rest.

Does the NNPC have presidential authorisation to keep these funds? How have they been spent in the last 16 years? The government should come out clean on this issue and put the matter to rest. NEITI was set up to bring transparency to the extractive industry and the outcome of its reports should be treated with all the seriousness it deserves.