Nigeria’s Economic Problems Caused by Oil Firms-Presidential Aide

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The chairman of the Special Presidential Investigation Panel for the Recovery of Public Property, Okoi Obono-Obla, on Monday, December 17, said some oil companies operating in Nigeria are contributing to the country’s economic adversity.

Legit.ng gathered that Obono-Obla, during a media briefing on the activities of the panel in Abuja identified one of those multi-national oil companies to include Addax Petroleum Nigeria, who, he said, refused to pay company income tax of over N700 million for about six years.

The presidential aide also accused ExxonMobil Corporation Nigeria of acquiring an oil bloc since 2009 for about $2.5 billion, and paying only paid $600 million till date.

He said the panel is working with the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) to draft a report which established conclusively that Addax was owing huge tax revenues to the government.

Obono-Obla giving an update on the effort of the panel to recover public property, said so far, about N523.2 million has been recovered, apart from over $1 million and lands valued at N1.5 billion from the Nigerian Export-Import Bank.

Also, the management of the National Theater, Iganmu, Lagos were charged to court for abuse of office and embezzlement of about N24 billion recovered from the directors, while the case file has been handed over to the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation.

He said the Tumsah brothers (Tijani and Ibrahim) were charged with alleged abuse of office, corruption, possession of unaccounted wealth beyond the legitimate earning. He said about 86 brand new cars including 23 which had bullet proof without permit, as well as landed properties located in highbrow areas of the city were recovered.

 In collaboration with National Intelligence Agency of Nigeria, Obono-Obla said the panel was also investigating findings of the Panama papers and businessmen who have properties offshore and those who evade tax.

Courtesy:www.legit.ng