Transparency call over $16.8B in Nigerian oil revenues

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria

Nigeria’s state-owned oil corporation did not send $16.8 billion in dividends collected in 2000-2015 to the government, a report said Friday.

Calling for sweeping reforms in the oil sector, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) received $1.07 billion in dividends, interest and loan repayments from Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited in 2015 alone.

“While the NNPC has always confirmed receipt of the payments, it has never shown evidence of remittance to either the federal government or to the federation account,” the report said.

It called on the NNPC to provide documentary evidence of claimed authorization to hold the money in trust and provide a full account of the status of the $16.8 billion collected from the gas company over 16 years.

Waziri Adio, head of the initiative, said: “Beyond providing a snapshot of what transpired in 2015, this report reveals money to be recovered, leakages to be blocked and urgent reforms to be undertaken.

“The most critical takeaway is the need to expedite, expand and sustain reforms in this still critical sector of national life.”

The report also showed that Nigeria suffered a 54.6 percent fall in oil revenues in 2015 but only a 2.7 percent fall in production.