The House of Representatives Special Joint Committee on the petroleum sector has ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to cease what it referred to as the mortgage of Nigeria’s future crude oil until it concludes its assignment.
The special joint committee in a statement issued Thursday and signed by the Chairman, House Committee on Petroleum Resources Downstream, Hon. Ikenga Ugochinyere, urged the NNPCL not to undermine the forensic investigation.
The joint committee described the said fresh loan as a major threat to President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to ensure local refineries have crude oil for their refining processes.
The directive of the joint committee was sequel to a reported plan by NNPCL to borrow additional $2 billion in crude oil-backed loans from international creditors to boost its financial inflow.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPCL, Mele Kyari, reportedly stated that the national oil company was in discussions with international creditors to raise an oil-backed credit facility in order to pay international oil traders a backlog of $6 billion amid subsidy removal.
The committee warned that this move, if allowed, would further worsen the situation of things, starve the refineries of feedstock, weaken revenue generation and create room for waste of future revenue.
Ugochinyere said the committee was already looking into the impact of past forward sales of crude, allegations of non-remittance of any part of the revenue to the federation account, unhealthy terms in the agreement and the effects of the deals on availability of crude for local refineries.
He said: “We want to bring to our notice today a shocking development and alleged move by the leadership of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to mortgage once again our future crude oil assets and revenues for alleged mere administrative purposes.
“As the Chairmen of the Joint Investigative Committees on Petroleum Resources Midstream and Downstream, it’ is our duty to act in the best interest of the citizens and ensure that the downstream and midstream sectors are protected from any decision that will further worsen the problems currently bedeviling the sectors.
“This move, if allowed will destroy things, starve the refineries, waste future revenue. We have ongoing investigation into past forward sales and allegation of non-remittance to federation account and non-availability of crude to domestic refinery.
“And now the citizens were excited on the recent news of president Tinubu intervention for crude supply to local refinery in Naira and the committee has received intel of plans to mortgage future crude revenue and oil for another loan at a time the nation is struggling.
“This is preemptive of the committee’s work and the committee wants to announce its halt of this fresh move and for the state oil company to brief the parliament.”
The joint committee added that the revenue being mortgaged are sovereign wealth of the people and the parliament has a duty as the watchdog of the commonwealth to step in.
Adedayo Akinwale
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