The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has clarified a statement wrongly attributed to the Managing Director of Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Mr. Umar Ajiya, suggesting that NNPC does not require the National Assembly’s nod to subsidize Premium Motor Spirit, otherwise called petrol.
A statement by NNPC Spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu Friday said “For the avoidance of doubt, Mr. Ajiya who was a guest at the Channels Television programme, Sunrise, today, explained that there was under-recovery in the importation and sale of PMS by NNPC, but the burden is categorized as business losses which the Act establishing NNPC recognizes.”
He said further that “Mr. Ajiya had made it explicitly clear that the losses from the PMS imports by NNPC could not be classified as subsidy since it was not appropriated for by the National Assembly.
NNPC disabused the minds of its numerous publics to disregard the statement incorrectly attributed to Mr. Ajiya as it represents neither PPMC nor the NNPC’s position on the subject.
The corporation said it “is alive to the critical roles the National Assembly statutorily plays in the administration of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector and would, therefore, not undermine the legislators in their legitimate business.”
