PPPRA denies knowledge of NNPC’s new subsidy payment

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) on Tuesday said it was not aware of details of payment of subsidy of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) by Nigerian National Petroleum Coporation (NNPC).

The representative of the Executive Secretary of the Agency, Joshua Peter, who made this known before Senate Committee on Public Account said the agency is no more in charge of payment made for subsidy.

He said, “ we are not in position to give that to you because as I said we only witness discharge and truck out , things have changed we don’t know how much about subsidy payments. On the issue of amount paid so far on subsidy, PPPRA does not have that information.”

Angered by the development, a member of the committee, Senator Bayero Nafada said that the PPPRA is in best position to give the Committee information on pricing of Petroleum products because that is there primary function.

Nafada siad “Your primary duty is about details of landing cost. That is your primary function; nobody is more competent to respond to the issue of landing cost than PPPRA.

The Committee asked the PPPRA to give the Panel details of cost of fuel importation from January 2017 till December 2017 within 24 hours.

In related development, Senate has mandated Senate Committee on Public Account to carry out a holistic investigation into the activities of the operation of the NNPC, Nigerian Agip Oil Company IPP Account and report back within four weeks.

The Committee was asked to investigate the rationale behind the operation of the N34,423,738,086.4 account domiciled in First Bank of Nigeria PLC with account number 2006367288.

Senate decision was sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Dino Melaye who revealed that the account was opened with the name NNPC/ Nigerian Agip Oil Company.

He also alleged that there had been lodgement and withdrawals into and from the account since January, 2017.

Questions raised on the account include; the objectives of the account, signatories to the account, whether the account was known to the Federal Government and the sources of the account’s fund.

Senator Melaye said the existence of various accounts lodged in commercial banks across the country by the Federal Government agencies negated the rationale behind the opening of the Treasury Single Account TSA).

Melaye noted that if all government accounts had been properly harmonised by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, the nation wouldn’t have gone to the international market to take 5.5 billion dollar eurobond loan.

Senator Sam Anyanwu, (PDP, Imo State) seconded the motion while the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the plenary session said there is no need to subject the motion into debate but to refer it to the Committee on Public Accounts.