The Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation has given further explanation on the approval it got from Vice
Presiddent Yemi Osinbajo while President Muhammadu Buhari was out of the
country.
The NNPC on Friday said the
Vice-President only gave approval for joint venture financing.
It disclosed that the
corporation’s Tenders Board actually approved contracts that were within its
purview.
The NNPC Group General Manager,
Group Public Affairs Division, Ndu Ughamadu, told Punch that it was wrong to
state that the then Acting President gave approval for contracts.
Ughamadu said, “The media house
that made the initial error didn’t read our response carefully. Two issues were
raised in the response.
“One was that the NNPC Tenders
Board under the provision of the Act that established it, gave approval for
contracts. Secondly , we said there was a Presidential approval for financing
of some joint venture projects.
“But the media house lumped
everything under contracts. We made it clear that we got a Presidential
approval for JV financing, which is for the corporation to go and source money
.
“And this was what the Vice –
President was referring to, which he gave approval for when he was Acting
President.
“There was approval for
contracts. Contracts’ approval by the NNPC Tenders Board has certain limits but
yet within a framework and in line with the NNPC’s Act.
“The second aspect refers to JV
funding of which we don ’t own 100 per cent , but own some equity shares . So
there was never a time that we said Osinbajo gave approval for 100 per cent
NNPC contracts; we never said so.
“The contracts that got approval
were the ones that fall under the purview of the NNPC Tenders Board. But to
source for JV financing , you need Presidential approval and that was what
Osinbajo gave.”
Recall that Osinbajo had on
Thursday stated that he never approved any contract for the NNPC, but that he
only approved the financing of some joint venture projects when Buhari was away
on medical vacation.
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