NNPC boss defends $21bn withdrawal from NLNG account

Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has said the withdrawal of over $21 billion from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) dividends account is legal.

The NNPC Group Managing Director, Malam Mele Kyari, stated this before the House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts in Abuja.

He said the withdrawn funds were the Federal Government’s share of revenues from oil shared among the federal, state and local governments.

Kyari, represented by Mr Umar Ajiya, explained, “Though the NNPC sits on the board (of NLNG) on behalf of the federal government, proceeds from the investment are managed and disbursed or dispensed or utilised, based on the instruction of the federal government.

“When I say the federal government, I do not mean NNPC. Ordinarily, it’s the Federal Ministry of Finance that directs the utilisation. We (NNPC) are merely the agents of the Federal Government.

“All withdrawals (from NLNG dividends fund) were based on approved mandates of the relevant authorities. As far as NNPC is concerned, investments in NLNG were done on behalf of the federal government. I was the treasurer of NLNG, so I was aware of the federal government’s investment in the project.”

He said the matter had come up at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) and was referred to a committee headed by the governor of Kaduna State, arguing that the federal government, through the NNPC, is the true owner of the investment and that the dividends accrued to the federal government, not the Federation Account.

“There is no question of illegal withdrawal. Nobody can withdraw from the account illegally. The CBN governor can be invited to attest to that,” he said firmly.

On queries from the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation on the alleged unauthorised deduction of over N1.2 trillion in 2014 from proceeds from oil, he said that “the NNPC couldn’t have remitted all its earnings” at the time to the Federation Account.

The committee, headed by Hon. Wole Oke, however, resolved to summon the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed; Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele; and the Accountant-General of the Federation, Mr. Ahmed Idris, to clarify the claims by Kyari on the utilisation of the NLNG fund.