Politics
NASS summons 17 oil coys over N72b, $273m debts to NDDC
Disturbed by the alleged huge debts of over N72billion and $273million, respectively owing the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC by 17 oil companies in the country, the National Assembly has summoned the affected companies to appear before its joint Committee on NDDC.
Chairman of the joint committee, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi (PDP Delta North), issued the summon yesterday at the end of interactive session with top management officials of NDDC, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN and the Union Bank in Abuja.
Some of the oil companies involved in the alleged indebtedness due to non remittance of three percent of their budgets, are Shebah Express Petroleum, Atlas Petroleum, Allied Energy, Frontier Oil, Seven Energy Limited, Belma Oil Producing Limited, AITECO Exploration and Production, Dubri Oil, Conoil Producing, Continental Oil and Gas.
Others are Enageed Resources Limited, New Cross Exploration and Production, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited, Nigeria Petroleum Development Resources. Munipulo Petroleum Development Company, Prime Exploration and Production Company and Nigeria LNG Limited.
The oil companies are expected to appear before the joint Committee by next week Wednesday.
Senator Nwaoboshi explained that the companies are invited to explain to lawmakers why they are not obeying the law as regards remitting three percent of their budgets to NDDC.
“We have invited all oil companies indebted to NDDC to come and tell federal lawmakers why they will not obey the law of the country. Some of them have confirmed that they are owning NDDC”, he said.
Specifically, he added that NDDC is owing N54billion as at when the last calculation was done, Allied is owning $43 million, Pan Ocean is owning $46million.
He also revealed that federal government is owning NDDC over N1 trillion.
Senator Nwaoboshi, who expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of oil companies to pay NDDC said that the Senate made efforts in the last session to ensure prompt payment of money meant for NDDC.
He accused the oil companies of not disclosing their real budgets, saying most oil companies tampered with their annual budgets.
The lawmaker added that in digging out the rot in the industry, forensic auditing, directed by President Muhammadu Buhari will be applied.
He said: “We welcome forensic audit of NDDC, Eighth Senate did technical audit and our findings were very appalling, we are going to carry out full audit of the agency’s financial transaction again.”
The committee, he added, discovered money meant for NDDC in the Nigerian Port Authority, NPA’s account, which he said was wrongly credited and CBN already, directed to reroute the money back into the NDDC’s account.
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