In the next few days, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and their local counterparts are facing prosecution for not remitting their Nigerian Content Fund to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), the Board’s Executive Secretary, Mr Simbi Wabote, has said.
The NCDF is one percent of every contract awarded to any contractor, sub-contractor, alliance partner or any other entity involved in any project, operation activity or transaction in the upstream sector of the oil and gas industry, which shall be deducted at source and paid into the NCDF account.
Speaking during a lecture titled: ‘’Promoting investment and collaboration in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry which opened in Abuja recently, he said the Board has complied the list of defaulting firms, with a view to handing them over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) for prosecution in few days time. He said it is worrisome that some oil and gas firms have consistently defaulted in the remittance of the one per cent deduction, warning that such companies should be ready to face the full wrath of the law.
He said it is worrisome that some oil and gas firms have consistently defaulted in the remittance of the one per cent deduction, warning that such companies should be ready to face the full wrath of the law. According to him, the Board is carrying out a forensic audit to determine the actual number of defaulters, how much they owed and subsequently hand them over to EFCC for prosecution.
He said the development would enable the board to recover its debts, as well as serve as a deterrent to others.
Wabote said: ‘‘You cannot believe it that some companies including International Oil Companies (IOCs), indigenous firms and contractors and operators are not paying these funds. We are getting close to where we will hand them over to the relevant prosecuting agencies.’’ To enhance accessibility to the fund, the Board in July 2016, had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Bank of Industry (Bol) to establish the NCIF.’’
Companies,Wabote said, have so far accessed $160 million out of the $200 million Nigerian Content Development Fund (NCDF) that is domiciled with the Bank of Industry (BoI). He said local firms had spent $160million to build capacity, a development, which has left $40million in the custody of the Nigerian Bank of Industry (BoI). He also said the fund was also spent on building modular refineries, adding that the development has helped the Board to exit appropriation and further become a self-funding agency.
Similarly, it fell below the receipts in the preceding month by 7.7 per cent, as the CBN explained that the decline in federally-collected revenue (gross) relative to the monthly budget estimate was due to the shortfall in receipts from oil revenue during the review period. The bank said, “Gross oil receipts, at N410.18bn or 55.9 per cent of the total revenue, were below both the monthly budget of N640.21bn by 35.9 per cent and the preceding month’s receipts of N472.38bn by 13.2 per cent, respectively.
“The decline in oil revenue relative to the provisional monthly budget estimate was attributed to shut-ins and shutdowns at some NNPC terminals due to pipeline leakages and maintenance activities.”
On non-oil revenue, the CBN stated that at N323.64bn or 44.1 per cent of the total revenue, non-oil revenue fell below the provisional monthly budget estimate of N466.91bn by 30.7 per cent.
“It, however, exceeded the preceding month’s receipt of N322.93bn by 0.2 per cent. The lower non-oil revenue relative to the provisional monthly budget was due to the shortfalls in receipts from all the non-oil revenue components, except customs and excise duties,” the bank stated. It noted that of the total N667.29bn retained revenue in the Federation Account, the sums of N92.63bn, N48.76bn and N24.73bn were transferred to the VAT Pool Account, the Federal Government Independent revenue and “others”, respectively, leaving a net balance of N501.18bn for distribution to the three tiers of government.
“Of this amount, the Federal Government received N239.65bn, while the state and local governments received N121.56bn and N93.71bn, respectively. The balance of N46.26bn was shared among the
Pix: Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Mr Simbi Wabote
