The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has debunked the allegation that it exported 17.877 million barrels of crude oil without proper documentation in four years, 2016 to 2020. A report, quoting the former auditor-general of the federation (AuGF), had accused some exporters of shipping crude oil without completing the required Nigeria export proceeds (NXP) forms. The AuGF was also said to have faulted NNPC Limited for appointing inspection agents in 2017, in flagrant disregard of a preceding directive by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd, Garba Deen Muhammad, in a statement made available to The Guardian urged the public to disregard the malicious publication. He stated:
“Our attention has been drawn to an online publication, alleging that NNPC Limited exported 17.877 million barrels of crude oil without proper documentation in four years (2016 to 2020), “The Auditor General’s report in reference did mention 32 oil marketing companies involved in the non-completion of the NXP forms; but that does not in any way mean that the proceeds from the sale of the said crude were not repatriated into the coffers of NNPC and consequently into Federation Accounts. It should also be noted that NNPC does not appoint Inspection Agents as alleged, but rather, it is the sole responsibility of the Federal Ministry of Finance. Therefore, the general public is advised to disregard the said malicious publication, and instead visit the relevant Auditor General’s website to see the full content of the audit report, and be guided accordingly,” he stated.