Falana noted that the said sum was received on behalf of the Government of Nigeria from Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) from 2004 to 2021.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has written to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Olawale Edun, asking him to direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to remit $34.2 billion to the federation.
Falana noted that the said sum was received on behalf of the Government of Nigeria from Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) from 2004 to 2021.
The letter addressed to Mr Edun and dated October 24, 2023 was titled ‘Request To Recover $34.2 Billion Being Dividend Collected By NNPCL On Behalf Of The Federation.’
According to the senior lawyer, the decision of the NNPCL to divert the said sum of $34.2 billion from the Federation is not backed by any law.
Falana told the minister that if he fails to “accede to our humble request, we shall not hesitate to initiate legal proceedings at the Federal High Court for the immediate recovery of the said sum of $34.2 billion from the NNPCL”.
“We shall also pray the Court to direct the NLNG to remit dividends earned by Nigeria to the Federation Account forthwith,” he added.
Explaining how the funds came about, Falana said, “On April 27, 2019, the Senate Committee on Public Accounts held a public hearing on revenue generation drive for the 2021-2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper (MTEF/FSP).
“During the hearing, the NLNG General Manager, External Relations and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Eyono Fatai-Williams, disclosed that from 1999 to 2019 the company paid dividends of over $18 billion to Nigeria through the NNPCL from 2004 to 2020. She also revealed that the NLNG paid $9 billion tax to the federal government from 2011 to date while $15 billion had also been remitted for feed gas to the NNPC since the inception of the company.
Peoplesmind
