Oil, Gas Royalty: NPDC owes DPR $1.8bn, N1.3bn
The Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) is owing the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) $1.8 billion (about N549bn) on oil and another N1.3bn on gas royalty, a House of Representatives adhoc panel heard yesterday.
The amount was accumulated between 2010 and 2015, and it is a subject of an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the panel heard further.
The adhoc panel chaired by Jarigbe Agom (PDP, C/River), which is investigating revenue leakages and activities of DPR, during its meeting with NPDC Managing Director, Yusuf Matashi, yesterday in Abuja raised several issues regarding how the amount would be settle.
This is even as the panel frowned at the absence of the Group Managing Director of NNPC Maikanti Kachalla Baru at the meeting and resolved to give him another date to appear and clarify issues on the matter.
Matashi had told the lawmakers the company faced many challenges before 2016, which presented the company in a very precarious condition.
He said as at December 2017, what NPDC owes DPR on oil was $1.8bn, while that of gas was N1.3bn, while a strategy to pay via crude oil valued at $10 million monthly would be used in settling the debt.
“The substantial part of it was accumulated within the period of 2010 to 2015. The situation as we stand today is that having reconciled fully with DPR, we have taken strategic decision that the debt shouldn’t be allowed to continue.”
“We have reached arrangement with DPR to settle the arrears. We also went a step further to ensure compliance and non-accumulation of further debt. We decided to pay government as a first line charge; that’s before we get the revenue, let’s pay our obligation to government. It was approved by NNPC management and application started in August, 2017.
“It’s NPDC’s sincere determination that with this strategy put in place, we’re going to guaranty that no further debt is incurred as far as royalty is concerned. The $10m agreed to be paid to DPR monthly would take about five years to settle.
But the lawmakers demanded to know why the agency would use $10m of public fund to settle the debt monthly when the original money earmarked for that disappeared in the agency.
