NUPRC: We can’t remit funds we didn’t receive from licensees

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) says there was no way it could remit funds it didn’t receive from licensees to the federation account.

The NUPRC made this known in reaction to a report on the non-remittance of funds to the federation account.

A national newspaper had claimed that a 2022 report from the office of the Auditor General of the Federation indicted the Nigerian Customs Service and the NUPRC for non-remittance of billions of naira to the federation account.

The newspaper quoted the report as indicating that N151.121 billion deducted by the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) on behalf of NUPRC (formerly Department of Petroleum Resources) as royalty for 2020 was not captured in the federation account.

However, the commission, in a statement issued by its Head of Public Affairs and Corporate Communications, Olaide Shonola, on Monday, March 11, 2024, described the newspaper’s claim as “mischievous”, noting that it was an act of mischief to blame the commission for not remitting funds it never received.

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Shonola stated that the claim showed a lack of understanding of the composition and responsibility of the NUPRC, adding that funds, including royalties, are meant to be remitted directly to the federation account and do not pass through the commission.

She said: “In the first place, the audit report under reference is that of the Year 2020. The NUPRC is a creation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) of 2021 and was inaugurated in October 2021. It is a regulatory body and not directly involved in operational activities.

“It therefore smacks of professional sloppiness to link NUPRC by whatever definition to a report of 2020. It is also mischievous to claim that NUPRC did not remit funds it never received.

“Funds, including royalties, received by licensees (all operators, NNPCL inclusive) are meant to be remitted directly to the Federation Account. It does not pass through NUPRC. They are responsible for receiving and remitting funds from oil and gas sector operations to the designated accounts.

“Even though the NUPRC, as a regulator, subsequently made efforts for the licensees to remit all outstanding funds in their custody to the Federation Account, the reasons for neglect, failure or refusal to do so are directly within their respective purview. It is therefore an act of mischief to lay the fault on NUPRC or blame the Commission for not remitting funds it never received.

“It must be stated emphatically that the NUPRC cannot bear vicarious indictment for a process outside its domain, as it does not receive and is not in a position to fail or refuse remittance.”

The Star