Reps demand tax records of NNPC Joint Venture accounts. ….. Summon  Chief Executives of Oil firms.

Njideka Ozoalor

The House of Representatives has demanded the tax records and other relevant documents on joint venture (JV) businesses and production-sharing contracts of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) from 1990 to date from the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

The House Ad-hoc Committee probing the JV businesses gave the directive when the FIRS represented by Ogunyemilusi Gabriel and Bello Rasheed appeared before It on Tuesday 27th September 2022 during an investigative hearing.

But the various Oil Companies invited by the committee failed to show up.

The FIRS’ representatives said the tax documents demanded by the committee had submitted for only 2015 to last year

The documents included the summary of Petroleum profit tax ; Copies of tax returns filed by JV venture from 1990 to 2022; Summary of remittances of Federal Account of tax revenue between 1990 and 2002; Copies of correspondence between NNPC and FIRS tax remittances; Summary of the all remittances to the Federal Account of tax revenue between 1990 and this year; and certified true copies of the the various tax revenues accounts maintained or supervised by FIRS on behalf of the federation.

The FIRS explained that the remaining records would be supplied as they archive them. Gabriel said the agency has a policy of archiving every six years, which was why the rewards from 2015 to 2021 were readily accessible when the committee demanded them.

Spokesmen of the House, Ben Kalu, expressed worry that the archiving policy of the agency placed a restrictions on the mandate of the committee

“It is restricting. I say so because if you look at the request from the letter, which is from 1990 and you are starting at 2015 based on the policy, we are losing about 25 years of inquiry. They must present this number of years wherever the documents are. We need those documents for us to conduct a thorough investigation. Let no excuse be given”, Kalu said .

Chairman of the Committee, Abubakar Fulata, demanded that the records be made available by this friday.

The Committee directed that the Executive Chairman of the agency, Mohammed Nami. appear before the committee next Tuesday to speak to the document so submitted.

He also directed that the Chief Executives of the various Oil Companies invited appear in person or face sanction. The sitting was adjourned to the next Tuesday