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Nigeria's NNPC 'failed to pay' $16bn in oil revenues | Nigeria's NNPC 'failed to pay' $16bn in oil revenues |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Nigeria's state-owned oil company has failed to pay the government $16bn (£11bn) in a suspected fraud, according to an official audit. | Nigeria's state-owned oil company has failed to pay the government $16bn (£11bn) in a suspected fraud, according to an official audit. |
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) provided no explanation for the missing funds, the auditor general told MPs. | The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) provided no explanation for the missing funds, the auditor general told MPs. |
Oil revenue accounts for two-thirds of the government's funding. | Oil revenue accounts for two-thirds of the government's funding. |
President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May. | President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May. |
The NNPC has not commented on the auditor general's findings. | The NNPC has not commented on the auditor general's findings. |
Analysis - Martin Patience, BBC News, Lagos | |
This finding by the auditor general, while shocking, is not a surprise. | |
Officials from the previous administration allegedly indulged in wholesale corruption where billions of dollars of oil funds simply disappeared. | |
When the then central bank governor Lamido Sanusi pointed out that billions of dollars were missing from the treasury, he was sacked from his job. | |
Nigeria's oil reserves should have been blessing for Nigeria to be used to build infrastructure and invest in social services. | |
Instead, it has been a curse, a lubricant that has produced massive corruption and dysfunctional governments. | |
President Buhari was elected on a platform of cleaning up the country's notoriously corrupt politics. | |
But some officials from the previous administration accuse him of using corruption to pursue a political vendetta. | |
The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years. | The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years. |
Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies. | Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies. |
A separate audit ordered under former President Goodluck Jonathan and carried out by global accountancy firm PwC, found that the NNPC had failed to pay the government $1.48bn between January 2012 and July 2013. | A separate audit ordered under former President Goodluck Jonathan and carried out by global accountancy firm PwC, found that the NNPC had failed to pay the government $1.48bn between January 2012 and July 2013. |
It did not provide a total figure for how much revenue the NNPC should legally have handed over to the treasury. | It did not provide a total figure for how much revenue the NNPC should legally have handed over to the treasury. |
However, the company said that it could not vouch for the integrity of the information it was given when it conducted the audit. | However, the company said that it could not vouch for the integrity of the information it was given when it conducted the audit. |
Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but the economy has suffered because of the recent decline in the price of oil. |