Publications
Partners
Abuja - Nigeria's central bank says the state-oil company NNPC has not paid $12bn it has earned from oil sales into government accounts, not $50bn as it had earlier stated.
The central bank said in a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan that NNPC had failed to pay $49.8bn of revenue it earned from selling the country's oil in the 18-months up to July this year into the federal government account, in violation of the law.
The letter was leaked to the media last week, prompting public outcry.
Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi and Petroleum Minister and NNPC chairperson Diezani Alison-Madueke have since held talks.
Outstanding
Sanusi said that after the discussions it was assured that NNPC was only responsible for paying $28bn from oil exports and had submitted nearly $16bn to the government although $12bn was still outstanding.
Oil accounts for 80% of government revenues and a shortfall of $12bn would amount to more than a third of the central government's annual budget.
Nigeria's oil savings account has been depleted to around $3bn, from $9bn a year ago, making Africa's second largest economy more vulnerable to any oil price fall.
"We're told that the shortfall has always been part of an ongoing discussion with the finance and petroleum (Ministries) and NNPC. So this is where we are," said Sanusi.
Paid back
Former World Bank director Okonjo-Iweala said there had been some misunderstandings which led to the central bank letter being written but no money was missing.
"There are some shortfalls that both the NNPC and ministry of finance have been working on for quite some time, but no money is missing," she said, without saying where the funds were or when they would be paid back.
NNPC has been criticised for lacking transparency in recent years but Sanusi appears to be one of the most high-profile figures to have brought up the issue with Jonathan.
Nigeria's senate has launched an investigation into the reports that NNPC has withheld government revenue.
