SERAP Sues NNPCL Over Alleged Failure to Account for ₦5.9bn Rebranding Cost

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has filed a lawsuit against the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited over the alleged failure to account for about ₦5.9 billion reportedly spent on the incorporation, transition and rebranding of NNPC into NNPCL.

The suit was filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja. SERAP is asking the court to compel the company to account for the expenditure and provide a reconciliation statement showing how the funds were used.

According to the reports, the figure includes about ₦2.9 billion said to have been paid for incorporation expenses from petroleum product proceeds, while another ₦2.9 billion was allegedly charged by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services to crude oil revenue for the same purpose.

SERAP also wants the court to compel NNPCL to disclose the officials who approved the spending and the contractors or service providers involved in the rebranding process.

The group argues that Nigerians have a public-interest right to know whether the money represented value for money and whether procurement rules and due process were followed.

The case adds a fresh legal angle to earlier public questions around spending in the petroleum sector. It also keeps attention on transparency at NNPCL, which was created after the old NNPC structure was changed under the Petroleum Industry Act.

If granted, the request would force more disclosure on a spending item that SERAP says should be open to public scrutiny because it involved public resources.

NNPCL had not been reported as giving a detailed public response to the new court filing in the initial reports.

Sources: Premium Times, Vanguard