Senate Committee Orders Oil Firms on Statutory 3% Remittance to NDDC

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Niger Delta, Peter Nwaboshi, has instructed oil companies to begin payment of the statutory 3% budget remittance to the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, within one week.

Members of the Senate and House of Representatives engaged 21 major oil companies in the offshore/onshore business over non-compliance with the law on 3% budget remittance to the NDDC.

The joint committee on the Niger Delta from the Senate and House of Reps said it was unacceptable for the oil firms to continue flouting the law, even as their businesses thrive.

The Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Ibim Semenitari, said the companies had rebuffed several attempts to provide copies of their budgets in order to determine the actual remittances.

The Executive Director of Total E&P Nigeria Ltd., Kingsley Ojoh said Total operates two companies- an offshore company which is not indebted and Total Finaelf, engaged in a joint venture with NNPC and indebted for two months in 2016 due to its inability to access receivables from NNPC.

On its part, Agip group which operates three companies viz: Nigeria Agip Exploration Company, engaged in off shore operation said they had fully paid their dues, just as Agip Energy Corporation, involved in shallow water operations, had also fully paid.

Nigeria Agip Oil, engaged in local operations which has a partnership with NNPC, was owing NDDC from 2014 but had paid $3.901m and N252,650m on April 6 as part of the 2014 outstanding dues after receiving the summon from the National Assembly’s joint committees.

Shell Petroleum reported that its offshore arm had fully paid but Shell local operating as Shell Petroleum Development Company in a joint venture with the NNPC had fully paid up as at December 2015 and all reconciliation have been made with NDDC.