The managing director of the Nigeria Export Promotion Council has been called in by the House of Representatives ad hoc committee looking into the alleged loss of crude oil income due to unremitted 1.67 billion dollars.
According to Vanguard, the committee is looking into claims that unlawful sales of 48 million barrels of crude oil from 2015, including exports from 2014, resulted in a loss of almost $2 billion in revenue.
On Monday, the House was invited to Abuja by Rep. Mark Gbilah, the chairman of the special committee, to answer questions about the 1.67 billion dollar debt that is still owed to Nigeria.
He claimed that despite the significant amount still outstanding to be deposited into the Nigerian Treasury, there had been numerous borrowings that may have had an adverse effect on the country’s economy.
The committee also re-invited the former Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, to find out the status of the legal actions taken against those who were allegedly responsible for the loss of crude oil.
He added the committee will also demand that the AGF give it the specifics of the investigation’s report.
He continued, saying that one of the allegations was that the federal government received comprehensive reports outlining various discrepancies, but that no action was taken.
He continued by saying that it sounded like a move to protect those allegedly implicated in the theft of national resources and praised the court for its decision in NEPC’s favour.
While urging Atlantic Energy and Building Concept to clarify, he stated that the ruling related to the case against them.
The Nigerian Maritime Safety Agency’s Director General, Mr. Bashir Jsamo, stated that NIMASA’s mission did not grant it the authority to sell or transport crude oil.
“However, in 2013, when crude oil revenues continued to decline, we coordinated data on the actual lifting of crude oil.
“As a result of our collaboration with the legal team after noticing these discrepancies, the legal team identified 10 entities as accountable.
Adding that the majority of the cases were still pending in court, he claimed that the firms under-declared crude oil from Nigeria.
“In one of the cases we won, the court ordered that $1.7 billion be paid to the Federal Government’s coffers.
He said that NIMASA and the AGF continued to keep an eye on the attorneys’ progress, “and I had written to them asking for an update on these instances.”
