.. as stiff penalty awaits defaulters of due process in procurement – Baru
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has recovered assets worth over N771million from some marketers who had under-paid for petroleum products supplied to them from Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Kaduna Depot.
The Chairman of NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee, Mr. Mike Balami, said the committee, in collaboration with Federal Government’s Intelligence and Anti-Corruption agencies such as the Department of State Security Services (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, recovered the assets from the defaulting marketers.
A release by NNPC Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, in Abuja, said NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee brought in forensic experts to uncover the shady deals by some of the marketers affected.
Mr. Balami disclosed that some of the assets recovered include filling stations, water factories and six sports utility vehicles, adding that the forensic investigation would be extended to the other depots across the country to stop the bleeding of the national oil company.
He noted that it was established that the affected marketers lifted petroleum products from the PPMC Kaduna depot without evidence of payment and when confronted with the evidence they admitted to the offence and failed to pay their liabilities.
He stated that NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, was passionate about stopping all the leakages in the corporation, stressing that the forfeited assets would be handed over to NNPC Corporate Asset Boarding and Disposal Committee (CABDC) for immediate disposal.
Mr. Balami added that investigation into lifting of petroleum products without evidence of payment was continuing, urging all relevant stakeholders to support the NNPC Anti-Corruption Committee in its onerous task of recovering all its monies outside NNPC’s system.
He said that this was the first time that the NNPC would be taking over assets forfeited by marketers who defaulted in their terms of engagement.
In another development Dr. Maikanti Baru, has warned management and staff of the corporation against any action that contravenes the provisions of the Public Procurement Act in the award of contracts, saying severe penalties await any defaulter.
The NNPC helmsman gave the warning at a Supply Chain Management workshop for NNPC Procurement Managers which held at the NNPC Towers, Abuja.
A release by the corporation’s Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Ndu Ughamadu, stated that Dr. Baru cautioned staff against contract splitting and accumulation, which he described as a deliberate act by procurement managers to subvert due process in the procurement process.
He restated the corporation’s commitment to transparency in every aspect of its operations, stressing that all procurements and contract awards in the corporation under his watch so far had been carried out in conformity with the Public Procurement Act.
To further deepen the culture of transparency in the corporation, the GMD directed the Supply Chain Management Division to step up its level of monitoring of the various tender boards within the NNPC for full compliance.
He commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the early approval of the NNPC budget, assuring that as the chief revenue earner for the nation, NNPC was committed to the economic policies of the Federal Government.
“The whole essence of the next level is to ensure that things are done correctly and speedily for the benefit of the people”, Dr. Baru stated.
The workshop was organized to sensitise procurement Managers in the NNPC to the new procurement policies by the Federal Government.
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