Femi Falana, human rights lawyer,
has written a letter to Ibe Kachikwu, minister of state for petroleum
resources, demanding information on the “loss of $60 billion oil revenue under
the freedom of information (FOI) act.”
In the letter dated April 10, the
human rights lawyer requested Kachikwu to provide details on how Nigeria lost
$60 billion oil revenue from non-implementation of production sharing contract
(PSC) terms between the federal government and international oil companies
(IOCs).
Falana also disclosed that he had
previously alerted the minister, who was then the group managing director of
the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), of the non-implementation
of the PSC terms.
The PSC terms between government
and IOCs clearly spell out the amount of money that the country receives in
signature bonuses, taxes and royalties and how much oil or gas the companies
must share with the government during production and contributes largely to
government revenue.
Giving more reasons for his
request, Falana said even Kachikwu himself had confirmed the huge oil revenue
loss, blaming it on “public officials,” with a more recent confirmation made by
the acting chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal
Commission.
The human rights lawyer gave the
minister a seven-day ultimatum to provide the requested information, saying
that he will be forced to seek a court order if Kachikwu fails to do so.
The letter sent to TheCable
Petrobarometer on Sunday, read in part: “In my letter addressed to you in your
capacity as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), I called your attention to the refusal of the regulatory
agencies in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to enforce the Production
Sharing Contracts signed with the International Oil Companies by the Federal
government.
“In a public statement credited
to you sometime in August 2017, you did disclose to the media that Nigeria had
lost not less than $60 Billion due to the refusal of some public officials to
implement the terms of the Production Sharing Contracts between the Federal
Government and the International Oil Companies.
“In another public statement made
on January 19, 2019 by the Acting Chairman of the Revenue, Mobilization,
Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mr. Shetima Bana confirmed the loss of oil
revenue of $60 billion arising from the non-implementation of the said
production sharing contracts.
“In view of the foregoing, I am
compelled to request you to furnish me with information on the revenue of $60
billion which the Federal government has refused to collect from the
International Oil Companies as at August 2017. As this request is made pursuant
to section the provision of the Freedom of Information Act you are required to
supply the requested information not later than 7 days from the date of the
receipt of this letter.
“TAKE NOTICE that if you fail or
refuse to accede to my request, I shall be compelled to apply to the Federal
High Court to direct you to avail me with the information on the loss of the
oil revenue of $60 billion.”
KACHIKWU RESPONDS
Responding to Falana, a letter
signed by Oge Modie, chief of staff of the petroleum ministry, acknowledged
receipt of the FOI request on April 11.
“On behalf of the Honourable
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, this is
to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated 10th April, 2019 and received 11th
April, 2019 on the above subject matter,” the letter read.
“Please accept the assurances of
the Honourable Minister’s best regards.”
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