Governors protest NNPC’s ‘non-remittance’ into federation account for five years

The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) has accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of shortchanging the country for a period of five years.

The governors said the commission failed to remit the joint venture cash call to the federation account from 2010 to 2015. Former President Goodlcuk Jonathan led Nigeria between 2010 and 2015.

Abdulaziz Yari, NGF chairman and governor of Zamfara state, said this while briefing start house correspondents alongside other governors after they met with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja.

Although he did not say how much was involved, Yari said those were the years when the oil price was about $110 per barrel.

“The meeting is on the decision of the national economic council (NEC) that the seven-man committee was established to engage the NNPC and discuss a way forward so that we can be able to resolve the issue that is outstanding most especially on the remittances to the federation account,” he said.

“One of the things (regarding the meeting) is about how they (NNPC) are paying the joint venture batch four and we have seen that what is being remitted to the federation account to the entire people of Nigeria is lower and that what is being paid for the cash call joint venture is higher than what is going to the federation account.

“The NNPC since 2010, made no payments of joint venture cash call when the oil was $110 per barrel up to when the president took over in 2015.

“So why the federation account is always low is because they are paying dual, paying the existing and at the same time paying the arrears.”

Yari expressed the concerns of the forum and NEC over the issue, saying the committee set up met with the NNPC on Wednesday “to discuss a way forward.”

“So we sat down with them (NNPC) to fine-tune how best we are going to get our partners to understand where we are, more especially now that the oil has started picking and the price is becoming moderately good,” he added.

On what was the response of the president, he said, “The entire federation is being shortchanged by those activities.”