The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has insisted that its recent letter to the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) stating its inability to contribute to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in May does not mean that it is going through a financial crisis.
The clarification by the state oil giant became necessary as they said the revenue projection contained in the letter to the accountant general being cited in the media is just for the federation revenue stream being managed by the corporation and not a reflection of the overall financial performance of the NNPC.
This disclosure is contained in a press release by the NNPC on Friday and signed by its Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Dr Kennie Obateru, stating that the clarification became necessary in the light of media reports insinuating that the corporation was in dire financial straits.
Obateru in the statement said, “NNPC maintains that it was conscious of its role and was doing everything possible to shore up revenues and support the federation at all times.
“The shortfall will be remedied by the corporation as it relates only to the federation revenue stream being managed by the NNPC and does not reflect the overall financial performance of the corporation. The NNPC remains in positive financial trajectory for the period in question.”
The corporation pledged to continue to pursue and observe its cost optimisation process with a view to maximising remittances to the Federation Account.
It can be recalled that NNPC, in a letter to the Accountant General of the Federation had projected that it would deduct the sum of N112 billion from oil and gas proceeds for the month of April 2021 to ensure the continuous supply of petroleum products to the country and guarantee energy security. This fueled reports of impending revenue shortfalls with dire consequences for the various tiers of government.