Nigerian state oil company fails to pay govt. $16bn in suspected fraud March 15, 2016 - 18:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Nigeria's state-owned oil company has failed to pay the government $16bn in a suspected fraud, according to an official audit, BBC News reports. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) provided no explanation for the missing funds, the auditor general told MPs. Oil revenue accounts for two-thirds of the government's funding. President Muhammadu Buhari has promised to crack down on corruption since coming to office last May. The NNPC has not commented on the auditor general's findings. The state oil giant has been mired in corruption allegations and losing money for many years. Last month, the government announced that the NNPC would be broken up into seven different companies. Nigeria's former central bank governor Lamido Sanusi, now the Emir of Kano, was dismissed by the previous administration after saying that $20bn in oil revenue had gone missing in 2013. A separate audit ordered under former President Goodluck Jonathan and carried out by global accountancy firm PwC, found that the NNPC had failed to pay the government $1.48bn between January 2012 and July 2013. It did not provide a total figure for how much revenue the NNPC should legally have handed over to the treasury. However, the company said that it could not vouch for the integrity of the information it was given when it conducted the audit. Nigeria is Africa's biggest oil producer, but the economy has suffered because of the fall in the price of oil.  Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads.   Partner news |  Latest news Armenian, Saudi Foreign Minister meet in Riyadh  The two commended the positive dynamics of the development of political dialogue between Armenia and Saudi ArabiaPashinyan: Azerbaijan’s proximity shouldn’t worry border residents At the same time, he said that he “does not guarantee [the security of villagers] one hundred percent”.U.S. doesn’t see Russia as contributing to peace in Caucasus Patel made the remarks when asked about the implications of Russia’s withdrawal of peacekeepers from Karabakh.Up to 1% cashback when shopping on Wildberries with IDBank cards IDBank is launching an exclusive campaign on Wildberries for online shopping enthusiasts. |
