The People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) has denied that its successive administrations tampered with the dividends paid to the Federal Government by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in the last 10 years.
“The truth is that the NLNG had been on a 10-year tax haven until 2014. Within this period, successive governments, right from President Olusegun Obasanjo, [the government] never shared nor tampered with the cumulative dividends over the years”, said Olisa Metuh, PDP’s National Publicity Secretary in statement on Sunday.
According to Metuh, NLNG dividends was paid directly to Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and accounted for as part of legitimate government earnings.
“Whatever taxes paid from the NLNG go through the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and recorded as part of the income of the Federal Government.
“It is imperative to note that by the end of the tenure of President Goodluck Jonathan, NLNG dividends had risen to a cumulative $5.6billion and not a single cent was ever taken from the funds,” he said
Metuh said it became imperative for PDP to correct the impressions created by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) that PDP governments tampered with the funds remitted to the government by NLNG.
Metuh described APC’s allegations has false and cruel.
He said, “although it is within the rights of the APC administration to spend the funds in any way they may decide, it is however cruel for them to inflict on us all such malicious falsehood while the current Presidency without the benefit of economic advisers and relevant statutory organs of government, unilaterally decided to deplete the funds without thinking of the attendant future investments and financial obligations of Nigeria in the NLNG project.”
He called on the APC to stop spreading propaganda and lies and asked the party to face the challenges of leading the country, a task which, according to him, the APC has shown it was not prepared for.
