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To say that the unfolding events in the feud between President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar are dizzying is an understatement. Borrowing from a press statement issued by the President’s camp; it is a great mistake to think that “making false and baseless allegations against others is no defense for those against whom damning evidence of wrongdoing has been established”. Obviously, the evidence in the way and manner the NNPC has been ran since 1999 by the reigning minister of petroleum is really damning.
As President Obasanjo rightly accepted his abuse of office in the MOFAS PDP 2003 campaign account and accounting scandal and called his vice to stop confusing or equating public funds held in trust by the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) with the MOFAS account, it has become imperative to heed the president’s advice and shift focus to the PTDF funds accounting practice during the period under review or rather under controversy.
Much has been said and written about the PTDF, its activities and finances since the kick-off of the ongoing feud between the first two citizens of this country. Much of this has been prompted by a stack ignorance of how the PTDF operates and funded. A much smaller sinister group, prompted by evil machinations and propelled by the mischievous goals they seek to achieve has deliberately sought to juggle issues and confuse the public with half truths and misinformation.
The Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) came into existence with the promulgation of Decree No. 25 of 1973. The position of the Law on PTDF is that all money collected in respect of licensing rounds (bidding proceeds) of oil blocks and their licensing is to be paid into the PTDF account. This money according the Act will be use for capacity building in the Nigerian oil and gas sector through various interventionist activities.
From available statistics, over $700 million was realized by the Federal Government during the 2002/2003 bidding rounds.
Acting upon a memo presented by the Special Adviser to the President on
Petroleum and Energy, Dr Rilwanu Lukman, on April 10, 2003, the
President – in- Council authourized the PTDF to execute certain special
projects designed to enhance its capacity building activities throughout
the country. And this led to the approval of the sum of $125 million by
President Obasanjo for PTDF on April 25, 2003. The released sum of US$125million which represented only about 17.86 percent of the total amount realized from the 2002/2003 bidding rounds. The money was invested in Trans International Bank (TIB) -US$10 million.
In
addition, US$62.1 million was transferred to PTDF Dollar Domiciliary
Account with Equitorial Trust Bank Ltd (ETB) on July 17, 2003.
Additional US$52.9 million was also transferred on August 20, 2003 by
PTDF to ETB, bringing the total amount to $115 million as approved. Following directives from President Obasanjo that all accounts including accrued interests of Government Ministries and Parastatals be returned to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the $115million invested in ETB by PTDF was returned to CBN in full including the accrued interests.
The TIB deposits have been assumed as its liability by the new owners, the Spring Bank who bought it over after due diligence during the 2005 consolidation exercise as ordered by CBN.
Clearly, the truth revealed in the above details run contrary to the claims in the EFCC report that the money has been embezzled. From the above facts which were provided by both the affected banks and the PTDF the entire funds invested with the two banks have been repaid or acknowledged as liabilities of the respective banks. However, this is not the crux of the painstaking detailed explanation given above.
The crux of the matter is the balance of the money realized from the 2002/2003 bidding and licensing rounds. Where is the balance of $535 million and who used it and under what law or which appropriation sub-head?
This question has become pertinent at this time of x-raying the funds and activities of the PTDF and the way and manner the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been managed by its sole administrator since 1999.
The issue of NNPC’s activities particularly those involving monies generated from its core activities including the privatization of some of its key subsidiary companies has become so vexing that one writer described the organization as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corruption (NNPC).
It is really annoying that the operations of the NNPC have been directed right from the Presidency since the inception of the Obasanjo-led administration in what was (at least initially well-intended) attempt to curb corruption and fraud at the nation’s apex oil concern. But rather than solve the problems, the President’s direct supervision has created more serious questions of corruption and fraud in the NNPC system including the few surviving subsidiaries yet to be ceded-off to Transcorp or other multinational conspiracies.
The corporation has been rocked by plethora of scandals that has to do with fraud and shady deals even as all its earnings and expenditures pass through the “eagle eyes” of President Obasanjo who has been acting as the sole administrator of the Petroleum Ministry since 1999.
To bring up other cases of fraudulent practices in the corporation into the issue of the PTDF and the monies generated in 2002/2003 bidding and licensing rounds would amount to muddling of different cases of unexplained use of NNPC’s monies. So let us just concentrate on one case this time.
Again Nigerians are asking: Where is the balance of $535 million from that particular $700 million realized from the 2002/2003 exercise and who used it and under what law or which appropriation sub-head. Was the use of the money by whoever used it, authourised by the National Assembly or rather was the National Assembly aware of the spending of that balance?
In addition, Nigerians need very clear and unambiqous explanation concerning the 2004/2005 bidding and licensing rounds where the remaining lucrative offshore acreages were ceded away to “anointed bidders”.
These are some of the critical issues the NNPC and its sole administrator need to urgently address so as to stop further and maybe dirtier exchange of fire at the Presidency on the NNPC or rather PTDF funds.
The NNPC may also need to clarify the scandal involving the purported sale of Eleme Petrochemicals where the alleged winner of the bid has since taken over the operations of the plant without paying anything in the real sense of the money they were supposed to pay to the Bureau for Public Enterprise (BPE).
The corporation may also need to explain to Nigerians what caused the sudden policy twist in the privatization of the Port Harcourt Refinery. These explanations obviously will go a long way in trying to restore the original and real name of the NNPC as Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation rather than the Nigerian National Petroleum Corruption. # SENIOR FYNEFACE, ELELEWON STREET, GRA II PORT HARCOURT, RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA.
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