Civil Rights Organization dismisses Corruption allegations against NNPCL
The National Civil Society Council of Nigeria (NCSCN) has dismissed corruption allegations against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) saying the allegation remain baseless and unfounded.
The allegations, led by the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), claimed that $2.04 billion and N164 billion in oil revenues were missing based on the 2020 audited report by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
The Council, while presenting the outing of it’s findings to Journalists in Abuja, however, said it found no wrongdoing in the operations of NNPCL.
The council’s Executive Director, Comrade Blessing Akinlosotu at a press conference in Abuja stated that the council has interacted with both the accusers and the accused, reviewed relevant documents, and found no verifiable fraud.
Akinlosotu noted that NNPCL was not yet in existence in 2020, and the audited report in question actually referred to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which was the predecessor to NNPCL.
He also pointed out that NNPCL’s management had provided the original audited account of NNPC, which was free of any verifiable fraud.
The NCSCN also investigated other allegations and found that under the current administration, payments for oil transactions are made directly to the Central Bank, making it impossible for NNPCL to misappropriate funds.
Akinlosotu warned against vendetta and propaganda in the media and called for professionalism and patriotism in reporting.
He emphasized that the media should serve as a complementary role in national development, rather than a weapon of blackmail.
