Despite the rising international prices of oil, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has, in the last 6 months, been dwindling in remittances to the Federation Account, Pointblanknews.com gathered.
According to reports, the NNPC only remitted $1. 786b to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 6 months representing an average of less than $300m monthly.
In fact, available records show that for the second time in January 2022, the NNPC was unable to deliver a kobo to the joint account, following the same occurrence in April 2021, when it announced zero remittance for the month.
This is in contrast to 2014, when the NNPC remitted a whopping $3. 4b in a month to the CBN.
Against this backdrop, the CBN requires at least $1. 8 billion monthly to fund the import obligations of Nigerians.
Pointblanknews.com recalls that recalls that with a deficit of approximately N2 trillion out of its projected N2.511 trillion, the NNPC was unable to remit roughly 80 per cent of its projected contribution to the Federation Account in 2021.
For the entire 12 months of last year, the NNPC disbursed N542 billion as against the budgeted N2.511 trillion, despite a monthly contribution estimate of N209.3 billion. The N542 billion represented just about 21. 6 per cent of the total expected contribution of the NNPC to the joint account.
An analyst who did not want his name in print wondered, “Is the CBN therefore therefore wrong to say that NNPC did not remitt anything if the average they claim they sent was only $300m?
“How come nobody is asking the CBN how it is funding these import obligations of Nigerians?”
“The truth is that NNPC must sit up and stop the bleeding on nigeria’s treasury. The Senate should also invite the NNPC to explain its failings..
“Only recently, reports went round that fuel queues started building up again because the NNPC could not fund the importation of petrol into Nigeria. Reports also had it that both NNPC and Ministry of Finance pleaded with the CBN to borrow $500m from Afrexim Bank on behalf of NNPC to pay for import of petrol in March. This $500m will be paid by the CBN when it falls due.
“Nigerians should ask NNPC if this is correct. We also heard that CBN bailed out the NNPC through another arrangement recently. Nigerians should ask NNPC questions not the CBN please.” He submitted