Wilson Adekumola
The NNPC Ltd has debunked a report going viral on social media and other platforms that it paid N20 billion to ghost consultants.
The report published by an online platform alleged that NNPC paid the sum of N20bn to ghost consultants and theft of multi-billion naira tax due to the Ogun State Government.
According to Vangaurd, the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mr. Garba Deen Muhammad, in a statement, noted that as a responsible corporate organization, NNPCL does not have or deal with ghost consultants.
He said, “At NNPC Ltd, 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 online platform would make such a grievous allegation, mindless of the consequences of such actions. The claim of a missing N20bn is absolutely false and baseless.
“The NNPC Ltd therefore demands that Sahara Reporters retract the said publication immediately; and going forward, the platform should verify its facts before going to press”.
While commenting on the tax issue with the Ogun State Government, he said, “The second component of the said unfortunate report is related to the Ogun State Government claiming a back duty tax liability of about N18bn, against an NNPC subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Ltd.
“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 Ltd will prove its case accordingly.”
