ANEEJ Welcomes NNPC Release Of Financial Records

By Alltimepost.com

Africa Network for Environment And Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has applauded the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for recently publishing its financial records from January to August, 2015.

NNPC spokesman, Mr. Ohi Alegbe had said recently that the publication of the oil company’s financial records was done to provide Nigerians an ‘overview’ of its operations.

The published NNPC financial report indicated that $607.8 million dollars have been paid so far into the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee, (FAAC) in the year 2015 from sales of export of oil and gas as dollar proceeds.

It also highlighted details of oil lifting & utilization, refinery plant operations and federal crude oil & gas revenues. It acknowledged details of the JP Morgan foreign account as well as receipts of payments.
A significant item in the financial report states that low oil price was responsible for cuts in dollar payments into the Federation Account in five months.

ANEEJ, in a press statement in Abuja recently signed by its Executive Director, Rev. David Ugolor referred to the month of October 2014 when it engaged policy making institutions like the National Assembly to stop the obnoxious practice of swapping crude oil for already refined crude products.

“It is an area riddled with sleaze, secrecy and corruption. Nobody knows who benefits from the deals and our struggle has been to bring to an end the rampant cases of impunity going on in the NNPC oil for refined crude deals,” Leo Atakpu, leader of the ANEEJ team that presented a position paper to the clerk of the National Assembly, Mallam Sidi Ibrahim, said then.

At the several meetings with the NASS, ANEEJ called on the House of Representatives to commit to leading Nigerian citizens to fight oil swap by pushing for investigations and prosecution of Nigerians that are involved in the oil deals.

“We recall that we offered to provide technical assistance through our contacts in Switzerland, to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the DSS vide a press release of 8th June, 2015, to assist with the investigations and opening up of the account details of the NNPC.

“ANEEJ then went ahead to organize a stakeholders meeting on oil and gas reforms in Abuja, using two key reports, the BERN and Natural Resource Governance Initiative, NGRI, as focal points in the drive to engender probity, transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sectors.

“Our struggle to ensure that there is transparency and accountability in the accounts of the NNPC is finally paying off, and we are particularly pleased that a full financial report of the NNPC from January to August has finally seen the light of day’, Ugolor said.

He further opined that non-capacity utilization of the refineries has already cost Nigeria a whopping N13billion in two months.

“From 2009 and 2012, the Federal Government lost $966 million, nearly N200billion, to oil deals and sundry opaque deals. Government must cancel or renegotiate these deals in a manner which does not leave us at the shorter end of the financial stick.

“Government as well should as a matter of urgency consolidate on the gains from this publication and work to reduce Nigeria’s reliance on oil & gas as the sole income source of Nigeria.

“It can do that by expending funds from oil & gas into building institutions and technologies which support alternative sources of energy like RE,” Ugolor advised.