The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has strongly refuted claims of inflating its subsidy figures by N3.3 trillion. In a statement issued on Monday by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPCL expressed “dismay” over the media reports suggesting such discrepancies.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!According to iWitnessLive, a forensic audit by global accounting firm KPMG uncovered a significant discrepancy in NNPCL’s fuel subsidy claims. The audit reportedly revealed that NNPCL had inflated its subsidy claims by N3.3 trillion. The report mentioned that NNPCL initially reported spending N6 trillion on fuel subsidies, with the government under former President Muhammadu Buhari covering a substantial portion. However, NNPCL’s Group CEO, Mele Kyari, claimed the company was still owed N2.8 trillion. Hours after President Bola Tinubu announced the elimination of the fuel subsidy, Kyari stated that the federal government still owed NNPCL N2.8 trillion for petrol subsidy payments, which the company had funded from its cash flow.
NNPCL firmly denied awareness of any audit of its subsidy claims, stating, “NNPCL conducts its businesses accountably and transparently in keeping with international best practices and has, at no time, inflated its subsidy claims with the Federal Government.”
The company emphasized that all previous subsidy claims are verifiable, with relevant records and documents submitted to appropriate authorities. NNPCL dismissed the audit findings as baseless, asserting, “NNPCL Ltd. is neither aware of any audit of its subsidy claims nor the probe ensuing therefrom and wishes to state categorically that both ridiculous claims are products of the febrile imagination of the reporters and their respective media houses.”
NNPCL underscored its commitment to transparency, noting that it has independently invited external auditors to review its books on several occasions in line with its Transparency, Accountability & Performance Excellence (TAPE) mantra.
The statement concluded with a call to media practitioners to exercise restraint and verify information before publication to avoid misleading the public. “NNPCL will resist any attempt to drag the Company into the apparent politics of fuel subsidy as it currently operates on a commercial basis under the express provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).”
