Uche Usim, Abuja
NNPC faults Police report on alleged hidden $470.5m, N8bto have uncovered $470.5 million and another N8 billion belonging to NNPC’s Brass Liquefied Natural Gas.
The Police Spokesman, Jimoh Moshood, in a statement, in Abuja, on Thursday, said the staggering sums were secretly stashed in various commercial banks, in total violation of government’s directives on the Treasury Single Account.
Refuting the Police’s claims, NNPC’s Spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, on Friday, said the report was not only misleading, but totally misplaced as the Corporation’s accounts were in full view of the Presidency, the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation and the Central Bank of Nigeria, who also received periodic status reports on balances yet to be remitted to TSA by commercial banks.
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He insisted that the management of NNPC would not subject the funds to 5% whistle blowing fees as it was totally needless.
While confirming that a few commercial banks are yet to complete remittance of US dollar deposits to the Treasury Single Account (TSA), he stated unequivocally that the Corporation had no funds hidden in any commercial bank.
According to him, following TSA implementation, the Corporation had made a report to the Presidency on the failure of some commercial banks to complete transfer of US dollar deposits and a Presidential directive was issued for the Central Bank of Nigeria to ensure that the funds were completely transferred to the Corporation’s Treasury Single Account in US dollars.
“Most of the commercial banks have since complied with the Presidential directive and completed transfer to the Corporation’s Treasury Single Account in US dollars, including the reported $470.5 million”, Ughamadu explained.
On the purported recovery of N8 billion by the Nigeria Police Force, Ughamadu insisted that the Corporation was not aware of any change in the subsisting Presidential directive to the effect that all of the US dollar balances must be transferred to NNPC’s CBN Treasury Single Account in US dollars.
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“In addition, no such funds have been deposited into the Corporation’s CBN Treasury Single Account.
Consequently, NNPC’s record of the US dollar funds still yet to be transferred by a few commercial banks cannot reflect the said recovery.
“While the Central Bank of Nigeria executes the Presidential directive to ensure complete transfer of US dollar funds to the Corporation’s CBN Treasury Single Account, it is pertinent to reiterate our earlier position that NNPC will resist every attempt to subject these funds, which have been in the full view of Government, to five percent whistle blowing fees as this would be unreasonable and a sheer waste of public funds”, he added.