Seven-man
committee set up by the National Executive Council, NEC, to interface with the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, over low revenue remittances to
the federation account, has submitted their findings to President Muhammadu
Buhari.
The committee, headed by the
Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, NGF, Governor Abdulaziz Yari of
Zamfara state, on Thursday accused the NNPC of short-changing the country in
revenue remittances to the federation account.
Chairman of the NGF made the accusation after presenting the forum’s grievances
to President Muhammadu Buhari.
Mr Yari was accompanied by
Governors Aminu Masari, Katsina, Simon Lalong, Plateau, Odom Emmanuel, Akwa
Ibom, and Nasir El-Rufai, Kaduna, to visit the President on behalf of the
National Economic Council, NEC.
“Yesterday, the seven-man
committee sat with the NNPC group and then today we came to brief President
about it.
“One of it is about how they
are paying the joint venture cash call and we are seeing what is being remitted
to the federal account for the entire people of Nigeria is lower.
“What is being paid as a result, as cash call, is higher than what is going to
the federation account, and NEC is concerned about that.’’
“We are not saying that we are
being short changed as governors or as a state.
“But the entire federation is
being short changed by these activities,’’ he added.
The governor said that one of the responses of the NNPC was that since 2010
there was no payment of joint venture cash call when the oil was $110 per
barrel up to where the President (Buhari) took over in 2015.
“So we sat down with them to
fine-tune how best we are going to get the partners to understand where we
are,’’ Mr Yari added.
He noted that the position
became important more especially where the oil price had started picking up.
“The prices are becoming moderately good and then we are slightly out of
recession and then we want to sustain that tempo so that at least the gross can
be retained,’’ he stated.
NAN
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