ABUJA—The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday, admitted that it failed to remit N23.4 billion Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme, NESS, fees, chargeable on crude oil and gas exports since 2008.
According to a statement by the NNPC in Abuja, its Group Managing Director, Mr. Maikanti Baru , stated this at the one-day investigative public hearing on the Pre-Shipment Inspection of Export Activities in Nigeria at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja.
The hearing was organized by the Senate Joint Committees of Finance, Trade and Investment, Gas, Petroleum Upstream, Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, and Customs and Excise.
Baru, who was represented by the Managing Director, NNPC Capital, Mr. Godwin Okonkwo, however, blamed the budgetary appropriation constraints imposed on the NNPC by the National Assembly for the accumulation of the sum. Baru disclosed that the National Assembly had always budgeted N20 million for NESS fees, adding that NNPC lacked any legal right to remit any amount above the appropriated sum once it was exhausted.
Baru explained that the NNPC was normally charged 0.15 per cent Free On Board, FOB, value of export as NESS fees for the corporation’s execution of export of crude oil and gas on behalf of the Federal Government. He said, “NESS budget is appropriated in the yearly National budget.
NNPC-National Petroleum Investment and Management Services, NAPIMS, administers the budget and payments under the scheme. Crude Oil Marketing Division (COMD, provides the lifting profiles and the actual price to compute the FOB export value.”
The NNPC said NESS fees are payments due to Pre-shipment Inspection Agents and Monitoring and Evaluation Agents in respect of their supervision of crude oil and gas exports, culminating in generation of Clean Certificate of Inspections (CCI) to an exporter as permit to execute action. According to the NNPC, as usual, at the end of each reconciliation, agreed NESS fees payable are signed off by stakeholders.
In his speech at the public hearing, the Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, who was represented by the Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, said the 8th Senate was committed to taking steps that would promote transparency and accountability of all public and private institutions that transact business with or on behalf of the Federal Government.
He noted that Nigeria was facing a lot of challenges and if the country was good for business, then the laws of the land must be obeyed, stressing that the Senate was in a hurry to move the country forward through legislation.
He said, “This is an opportunity to open the books of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to right the wrong of the past.” Speaking in the same vein, the Joint Committee Chairman, Senator John Enoh, noted that the investigative public hearing was to instill probity and transparency in the process of crude oil and gas exports in order to reduce leakages.
He said that Section 11 of the Pre-shipment Inspection of Export Act made provision for repatriation of proceeds after 90 days, noting however, that most exporters of crude oil and gas contravened the provision. Senator Enoh urged all stakeholders to make meaningful contributions towards the realization of the objectives of the Joint Senate Committee, noting that any submission targeted at misleading the Committee would be sanctioned.
The NNPC noted that the Federal Government enacted the Pre-shipment Inspection of Export Act No. 10 of 1996 to ensure the exportation of quality goods through inspection of all export products which gave rise to the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS).
Its responsibility was extended to cover crude oil and gas exports in 2008.
Source – Vanguard
