No award of $25bn contracts in NNPC – FG

By Abdullahi M. Gulloma

 

Abuja

Claims on social and conventional media that $25 billion worth of oil contracts were awarded by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) or that the amount is missing in the corporation are false, the Presidency said yesterday.
A statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Offi ce of the Vice President, Mr. Laolu Akande, said no contracts were procured by the NNPC based on the leaked memo of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu even though such impressions have been created in the past few weeks.
“When you look diligently at the referenced projects/transactions one by one, you will see, as NNPC has shown, that none of them was actually a procurement contract.
Take both the Crude Term Contract and the Direct Sale, Direct Purchase (DSDP) agreements for instance; these are not procurement contracts involving the expenditure of public funds.
“Both transactions are simply a short-listing process, in which prospective off -takers of crude oil and suppliers of petroleum are selected under agreed terms, and in accordance with due process.
“It is, therefore, wrong and misleading to refer to them as though they’re contracts involving the expenditure of NNPC funds, or public funds of any sort.
As you now know, the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources himself has in fact clarifi ed that he meant to focus on administrative and governance issues, not red-fl ag any fraud – because no fraud exists in this matter.
“Whenever there is a monetary value on any consignment of crude oil lifted in this country by any fi rm, the proceeds go directly to the Federation Account and not to any company.
In fact, the Buhari administration in the implementation of the TSA has closed down multiple NNPC accounts in order to promote transparency and probity,” the statement said.
Further clarifying, the statement added that the AjaokutaKaduna-Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline Contract “is a contractor-financed contract which has not yet been finalised or awarded; it is still making its way to the Federal Executive Council.

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