EFCC Recovers N329bn from Oil Marketers

EFCC Recovers N329bn from Oil Marketers

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Kano Office, has recovered a sum of N328,988,296,990.62 (Three Hundred and Twenty Eight Billion, Nine Hundred and Eighty Eight Million, Two Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Naira, Sixty Two Kobo) from nine major oil marketers across the country.

The recovery was sequel to a petition against the leadership of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC and its subsidiary, Pipelines and Product Marketing Company, PPMC.

The petition alleged that a whooping sum of N40billion had been diverted by the major oil marketers in connivance with the leadership of the NNPC and PPMC.

The EFCC in a swift reaction referred the petition to a special task force who swung into action by conducting discrete investigation.

Findings by the operatives of the EFCC revealed that the oil marketers were actually indebted to the federal government of Nigeria to the tune of N91,519,485,204.44 (Ninety One Billion, Five Hundred and Nineteen Million, Four Hundred and Eighty Five Thousand, Two Hundred and Four Naira, Forty Four Kobo) 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; a probe of which further led to the discovery of N258,928,926,351.93 (Two Hundred and Fifty Eight Billion, Nine Hundred and Twenty Eight Million, Nine Hundred and Twenty Six Thousand, Three Hundred Fifty One Naira, Ninety Three Kobo).

Following the latter discovery, the total amount of debt stands at N349,818,411,556.37 (Three Hundred and Forty Nine Billion, Eight and Eighteen Million, Four Hundred and Eleven Thousand, Five Fifty Six Naira, Thirty Seven Kobo).

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.

So far, a sum of N328,988,296,990.62 (Three Hundred and Twenty Eight Billion , Nine Hundred Eighty Eight Million, Two Hundred and Ninety Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Ninety Naira, Sixty Two Kobo) has been recovered from the major oil marketers.

The outstanding debt now stands at N20,765,919,869.48 (Twenty Billion, Seven Hundred and Sixty Five Million, Nine Hundred and Nineteen Thousand, Eight Hundred Sixty Nine Naira, Forty Eight Kobo).

Wilson Uwujaren
Head, Media and Publicity
26 July, 2017