Why we paid N123bn interim dividend to FAAC – NNPCL

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has given reasons behind the payment of an interim dividend of N123billion to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) for the month of June.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that FAAC had on Thursday shared N907bn among the three tiers of government.

From the money shared, NNPCL contributed N81bn as a monthly interim dividend and N42bn as 40 per cent oil Production Sharing Contract (PSC) profit totaling N123bn.

The NNPCL chief financial officer, Umar Ajiya, said in a statement that the move was to consolidate its post Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 status as an income generating company.

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“This payment is in addition to compliance on payment of royalties and taxes,” he said.

According to Ajiya, the latest development is a departure from previous years of sleaze and wastages.

“This will set the track for future profitability and global best practices designed to build the NNPCL into a world class oil company in the ranks of  Saudi Aramco, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp., Exxon Mobil Corp and others.

“The goal of Malam Mele Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GECO), NNPCL, is to set the country’s oil company on the path of profitability and sustainable growth.

“Since the transformation of the NNPC from a loss making organisation pre-PIA to a robust profit making company post-PIA, the company under Kyari has pursued global governance best practices aimed at repositioning the company for greater growth.

“The payment to FAAC clearly shows that the company under the leadership of Kyari is moving in a positive trajectory as enshrined in the PIA.”

On Thursday, Bawa Mokwa, Director, Press and Public Relations, Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation (OAGF), had stated that the N907.054bn shared by the FAAC comprised distributable statutory revenue of N301.501bn and Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N273.225bn. (NAN)