The presidential candidate of People’s Democratic Party in the last general election, Atiku Abubakar, has described the directive to remit revenue from the sale of crude oil to the Central Bank of Nigeria as illegal.
Atiku, who made this statement on Thursday, said the the directive by the President Bola Tinubu-led Federal Government violates the status legal status of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) as well as threatens the autonomy of the company.
According to him, state-owned enterprises are not subject to such arbitrary orders and have full control over their finances within the confines of their respective establishment laws.
He said, “Without prejudice to the possibility of any good that was intended in the decision of the Federal Government to make the CBN take over the responsibility for crude oil sales proceeds from the NNPCL, it must be clearly stated that the action is not legal in its application.
“By this order, Mr. President has wrested control of the finances of the NNPCL and donated the same to the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“This is an unprecedented act, without any legal or ethical basis. ”
Speaking further, Atiku noted that “The PIA makes extensive provisions for the formation, structure, governance, and operation of the NNPCL as an independent limited liability company in Sections 53 to 65 of the Act.
“The government must, therefore, respect the provisions of the law and allow the NNPCL to run as an independent company based on sound commercial objectives and in line with international best practices and standard principles of corporate governance,” he added.
Earlier, it was widely reported that Tinubu had directed NNPCL to remit all the proceeds of crude oil sales to the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the report, NNPCL will submit receipts for crude oil sales to CBN for vetting and documentation
The report also noted that a decision was made to encourage transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector.
Do you have any information or event for ABUJAPRESS to publish or cover? Kindly Call us on +2349075556668 or send us message on Whatsapp number +2349075556668 or send us an email [email protected]
No comments