Key highlights
- NNPC Limited has dismissed an allegation of corruption by Sahara Reporters as baseless and false, maintaining that it does not deal with ghost consultants.
- The company also called on Sahara Reporters to retract the publication immediately.
- The tax claim by the Ogun State government is being handled by a court of law and the NNPC Limited is confident of victory.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has denied paying N20 billion to ghost consultants as alleged by online publisher, Sahara Reporters.
In a statement signed by its Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Garba Deen Muhammad, the NNPC said it does not deal with ghost consultants. A part of the statement read:
- “The NNPC Limited read with utmost dismay, a report by an online platform (Sahara Reporters) alleging paying the sum of N20 billion to ghost consultants and theft of multi-billion-naira tax due to the Ogun State government.
- “The NNPC Limited wishes to state that as a responsible corporate organization, it does not have or deal with ghost consultants.
- “At NNPC Limited, the process of engaging consultants whenever the need arises is clear and verifiable and follows global best practices.
- “It is therefore unfortunate that for whatever reason, the said the online platform will make such a grievous allegation, mindless of the consequences of such actions. The claim of a missing N20 billion is false and baseless.
- “The NNPC Limited, therefore, demands that Sahara Reporters retracts the said publication immediately and going forward the platform should verify its facts before going to press.
- “The second component of the said unfortunate report is related to the Ogun state government claiming a back duty tax liability of about N18 billion against an NNPC subsidiary; the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Limited.
- “For clarity, PPMC had objected and challenged the claim through its tax consultant. Consequently, the Ogun State government took the matter to court, which is not unusual in business circles. The matter is currently before the court and NNPC Limited will prove its case accordingly.”
The backstory
Sahara Reporters published an article on April 2, alleging that a staff member of the NNPC Limited accused the company of massive corruption to which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has allegedly turned a blind eye to.
The report said that an unhappy employee of the company expressed dissatisfaction with the purported fraudulent activities carried out by former employees of the company. The employee provided multiple examples of direct theft by these former staff members. The dissatisfied employee criticized the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for ignoring the “enormous fraud” taking place within the NNPC due to the involvement of key individuals within the organization.
According to the employee, the management of the now-defunct PPMC shared a significant portion of payments made to consultants. He further stated that he could confirm the theft of over N20 billion under the guise of payments to non-existent consultants.
The employee called for the reorganization of NNPC to reflect the principles of federal character by the incoming administration.