The Economic
and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N329.150billion from 10
marketers from 2016 to date.
The
marketers defaulted in payment for products supplied to them by the Nigerian
National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) through its subsidiary, the Petroleum
Products and Marketing Company (PPMC).
About
N20,604,109,123.90 is yet to be recovered.
The PPMC has
written to the EFCC to help recover the funds.
Following a
petition against the marketers, EFCC Acting Chairman Ibrahim Magu raised a
special task force to investigate how the marketers incurred the debts of about
N349,818,411,556.37.
The Task
Force, which was managed by the EFCC Zonal office in Kano, recovered the
N329.150billion from 10 marketers.
After the
reconciliation at the weekend, the PPMC gave a status report to the Acting
Chairman.
The report,
signed by Umar Ajiya reads in part:
“Further to our previous correspondence to your office in respect of the
above subject matter, please note that till date, the debts recovered from
major oil marketers include N87, 028, 851, 268.17 and N242, 121, 256,468.03 for
legacy and current debts respectively, leaving a balance of N20, 604, 109,
123.90 broken down into N4, 426,439, 240(legacy debts) and N16,177,669, 883.90
(current debts).
“These
amounts have been agreed with the marketers that they shall be deducted and
paid from outstanding entitlements or payments due to the marketers from the
Federal Ministry of Finance and which will bring to the end the debt recovery
effort.
"We
wish to express our profound gratitude for the successful collaboration between
the EFCC and PPMC/ NNPC which largely resulted in the huge recovery of debt
from the marketers from the inception of the recovery exercise in 2016 to
date.”
A source,
who spoke in confidence, said if the EFCC had not moved in, some of the
marketers would have been foot-dragging on the debts.
“You can
imagine what N349billion can do in the life of a nation. Some of these
marketers were supplied products but they did not pay even after selling to
customers.
“The EFCC
detectives are still working on the recovery of the over N20billion still
outstanding,” he said.
Earlier, the
Head of Media and Publicity of EFCC, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, had given an insight
into the breakthrough by EFCC detectives.
He
said: “Findings by the operatives of the
EFCC revealed that the oil marketers were actually indebted to the Federal
Government to the tune of N91,519,485,204.44billion between 2010 and 2016.
”Further
investigation into the allegation also revealed that the oil marketers had
continued to obtain petroleum products from the government without proper
payment, in violation of the NNPC/PPMC credit facility regulations.
”Upon the
conclusion of the preliminary investigation, officials of NNPC/PPMC and all the
managing directors of the concerned companies which are NNPC retails , Conoil
Plc, Total Plc, OVH Energy Plc, Oando Plc, Forte Oil and Gas Plc, Mobil Plc,
MRS Oil Plc, and NIPCO Oil Plc were invited to the Kano Zonal Office of the
Commission where their statements were recorded following which the recovery
process commenced.”
Shady deals
in the oil sector, including the fuel subsidy scandal, were said to have cost the nation over N1.3
trillion in 2011.
But the
manipulation of subsidy claims caused an uproar nationwide.
The
Presidential Committee on Verification and Reconciliation of Fuel Subsidy
Payments had initially indicted 21 firms
for fraudulent claims that cost the nation N382 billion but the list was later
increased to 25 by the Federal Ministry of Finance, based on fresh evidence.
The former
Chairman of the Committee, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said of the N422 billion scrutinised, N18 billion
was found to be duplication; N21 billion was cleared.
He also
confirmed out of the 116 oil marketing and trading companies (OM&T)
invited, 107 honoured the invitation.
He said: “Of
the N422 billion, N18 billion was found to be duplication. So, the actual
amount that was being verified is N403 billion. Of this amount, N21 billion was
cleared and that leaves N382 billion as the sum in contention for which the
committee recommended that the process of recovery should be made,” the report
noted.
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