Non-availability of fund responsible for non remittance of N23.4bn ― NNPC

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has blamed non remittance of N23.4billion Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS) fees chargeable on crude oil and gas exports since 2008 on non-availability of fund.

In a statement signed by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, NNPC, Mr Ndu Ughamadu and made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Tuesday, NNPC GMD, Dr Maikanti Baru, told the Senate Joint Committee of Finance; Trade and Investment; Gas; Petroleum Upstream; Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions; Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters; and Customs and Excise, that NNPC accumulated the sum due to budgetary appropriation constraints imposed on it by the National Assembly.

Dr Baru, who was represented by the Managing Director, NNPC Capital, Mr Godwin Okonkwo, at the one-day investigative public hearing on the Pre-Shipment Inspection of Export Activities in Nigeria at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja, stated 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.

Dr Baru stated that 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.

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. As usual, at the end of each reconciliation, agreed NESS fees payable are signed off by stakeholders.

“NESS budget is appropriated in the yearly National budget. NNPC-NAPIMS (National Petroleum Investment and Management Services) 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,” he said.

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.