About seventeen oil companies are owing the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC N72 billion and $273 million respectively.
This is as the Joint National Assembly Committee on Niger Delta Development Commission on Tuesday summoned the oil companies over their indebtedness to the commission.
, Senator Peter Nwaoboshi, the Chairman of the NASS joint panel issued the summons during an interactive session with officials of the commission, commercial banks and Central Bank of Nigeria.
Shebah Express Petroleum, Atlas Petroleum, Allied Energy, Frontier Oil, Seven Energy Limited, AITECO Exploration and Production, Dubri Oil, Conoil Producing, Continental Oil and Gas are some of the companies named in the debt.
Others include Enageed Resources Limited, New Cross Exploration and Production, Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited, Nigeria Petroleum Development Resources, Munipulo Petroleum Development Company, Prime Exploration and Production Company and Nigeria LNG Limited.
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According to Nwaoboshi, the oil firms are expected to appear before the joint committee by next week Wednesday.
He said that the companies were invited to explain why they were not obeying the country’s laws.
He said, “We have invited oil companies that are indebted to the NDDC to come and tell lawmakers why they would not obey the laws of the country. Some of them have confirmed that they owed the NDDC.”
Punch quoted the senator saying that as of the time the last calculation was done, the Nigerian Petroleum Development Corporation owed N54bn; Allied oil owed $43m, while Pan Ocean owed $46m.
He also revealed that the Federal Government owed the NDDC over N1tn.
Nwaoboshi, who expressed dissatisfaction with the failure of the oil companies to pay the NDDC, said that the Senate made efforts in the 8th National Assembly to ensure prompt payment of money meant for the NDDC.
He accused the oil companies of not disclosing their real budgets, saying most of the firms tampered with their annual budgets.
The senator said President Muhammadu Buhari had ordered a forensic audit of the NDDC, adding that the committee had resolved to do the same.
He said, “We welcome the forensic audit of the NDDC. The 8th Senate did a technical audit and our findings were very appalling. We are going to do our own full investigation. We have resolved to do a full audit of the NDDC.”
Copyright PUNCH.
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