NNPC denies receiving FG directive on suspension of subsidy payments on kerosene

Contrary to the statement by the Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi that there was a directive by the Federal government since 2009 that payment on Kerosene subsidy be stopped, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has denied receiving any of such directives from the government. The Acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Dr. Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said that even if such order was given, it was not communicated to the various departments for implementation. He said, “The point of contention is about kerosene subsidy. We do not doubt that there could be a directive. But what the NNPC is saying is that it is one thing for the President to give a directive, it is another thing for the directive to be communicated down to the various agencies of government. “The communication line in matters like this is between the President and the minister. And the minister will direct subsidiaries or parastatals working under the ministry. So in a situation where a directive was given by the President to a minister, then for reasons that are best known to the minister or the ministry, that information was not communicated to the parastatals, then you can’t hold us responsible for not implementing the directive. As far as we are concerned, we have not received the directive.” He stressed further that the NNPC was a full structured organisation and does not work with “hearsay.” Speaking on the missing 20 billion dollars, Ibrahim said the corporation would be able to reconcile its account before the end of the week, stressing that the NNPC would soon brief the
Senate on its findings. He disclosed that “a large chunk of this amount is what we are reconciling now and we believe that by the end of the week, we should be able to give our report to the Senate.” Recall that the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, had on Tuesday said that the $20bn of the $67bn realised from crude oil sale on behalf of the Federal Government was yet to be remitted to the Federation account by the NNPC. The NNPC had however claimed that bulk of the money was spent on subsidy payment on Kerosene. Sanusi had further faulted the claim, disclosing that there was an order since 2009 stopping subsidy payment on kerosene. Sanusi said, “I have submitted to this committee a written evidence of a presidential directive eliminating subsidy since 2009 and the NNPC needs to provide its authority for buying kerosene at N150 and selling at N40, and inflicting that loss on the federation.”