…To probe sharp rise in fuel subsidy bill
BY BOLAJI AJALA
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, is owing the
Federal Government about N1.3 trillion ($8.3 billion) in earnings from
2009-2011, according to a report by the Nigerian Extractive Industry
Transparency Initiative.
NEITI also stated that it will probe the NNPC’s fuel import subsidy
bill, which the audit showed rose from N198 billion in 2009 to N786
billion naira in 2011.
The NEITI audit showed that the NNPC is owing N759.88 billion ($4.84
billion) in dividends and loan repayments from the Nigerian Liquefied
Natural Gas (NLNG) export business between 2009-2011 and a further
N626.43 billion ($3.99 billion) in NLNG funds from previous years going
back to 1999.
The audit further revealed that the NNPC receives 445,000 barrel per
day of crude oil to refine locally but only uses 20 per cent of it
because Nigerian refineries are in disrepair. The rest it sells.
NEITI also noted that the NNPC then removes subsidy from the money it
earns from the crude oil sales before sending the balance to government
accounts, a practise the auditor said the government should change
because it left “gaps in the process”.
The audit said Nigeria was owed around $5.85 billion in underpaid
taxes and royalties from oil and gas producers but did not name specific
companies.
The audit added said some firms were seeking legal action on the alleged debts.
Vanguard
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