January 05, (THEWILL) – The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has denied any involvement in the alleged illegal exportation of 17.877 million barrels of crude oil without proper documentation from 2016 to 2020
An online publication (not THEWIL), quoting the former Auditor-General of the Federal (AuGF), had claimed that some exporters shipped crude oil without completing the required Nigeria export proceeds (NXP) forms and accused the NNPC of the alleged illegal export in the period covering four years.
But, in a statement issued by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Garba Deen Muhammad, the NNPC described the claims as ‘malicious’.
The statement read: “Our attention has been drawn to an online publication, alleging that NNPC Limited exported 17.877 million barrels of crude oil without proper documentation in four years (2016 to 2020).
“The Auditor-General’s report in reference did mention 32 oil marketing companies involved in the non-completion of the NXP forms but that does not in any way mean that the proceeds from the sale of the said crude were not repatriated into the coffers of NNPC Limited and consequently into the federation accounts for federation related barrels.
“It should also be noted that NNPC Limited does not appoint inspection agents as alleged, but rather, it is the sole responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“Therefore, the general public is advised to disregard the said malicious publication, and instead, visit the relevant Auditor-General’s website to see the full content of the audit report, and be guided accordingly.”