The outstanding N1.3tn debt of the Federal Government to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has nothing to do with the payment of dividend to the government, the NNPCL said on Thursday.
In June this year, the national oil company revealed that it was expecting a refund of about N1.3tn from the Federation Account as debt by the Federal Government.
It disclosed this when the inter-agency committee constituted by President Bola Tinubu was set to commence sitting to resolve the lingering debt row. The Federal Government had accused the NNPCL of indebtedness to the tune of about N2.8tn, but the oil company had claimed that the Federal Government should first pay back almost N4.1tn, which was its unsettled outstanding claims for subsidy payments on petroleum products imports, supplies and distribution on behalf of the government.
“The Federation owes NNPC almost N4.1tn, and NNPC owes about N2.8tn to the Federal Government. So, they should actually give us a cheque for the debt of N1.3tn they owe NNPC Limited,” a senior official of the company had reportedly stated recently in Abuja, as the inter-agency committee constituted by the President moved to resolve the matter.
