NNPC backtracks, says only national assembly can appropriate for subsidy

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) says only the national assembly can appropriate for the payment of subsidy in the importation of petrol.

Ndu Ughamadu, NNPC spokesman, said the statement attributed to Umar Ajiya, Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) managing director, was misconstrued.

Ajiya, who was a guest on Sunrise Daily, a Channels TV programme, had said the extra cost of imported petrol could not be classified as subsidy and thus the national assembly did not need to approve it.

“For us, it is not a question of subsidy, we don’t know what subsidy is because it was not budgeted for,” he said.

“The act establishing us, and the national assembly knows clearly that in that same act, there is a provision that we can run our operations and recover our cost fully.”

But Ughamadu said NNPC would not undermine the role of legislators.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Ajiya who was a guest at Channels Television programme, Sunrise, today, explained that there was under-recovery in the importation and sale of PMS by NNPC, but the burden is categorised as business losses which the Act establishing NNPC recognises,” the statement read.

“Mr Ajiya had made it explicitly clear that the losses from the PMS imports by NNPC could not be classified as subsidy since it was not appropriated for by the national assembly.

“NNPC wishes to disabuse the minds of the public to disregard the statement incorrectly attributed to Mr. Ajiya as it represents neither PPMC nor the NNPC’s position on the subject.”