By Udesinanna Stephen
The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC Limited has debunked the claims that it paid N20 billion naira to ghost consultants as reported by Sahara reporter.
This was debunked in a press statement signed by the Chief Corporate Communications officer, NNPC Ltd, Garba Deen Muhammad saying that the Corporation does not deals with ghost consultants.
According to the statement, at NNPC Ltd, the process of engaging consultants whenever the need arises is clear and verifiable and follow global best practices.
Also, NNPC debunked another alleged theft by Sahara reporters that Ogun State Government claiming a back duty tax liability of about N18bn, against an NNPC subsidiary, the Petroleum Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Ltd.
The statement reads in part: “For clarity, PPMC had objected and challenged the claim through its Tax Consultant. Consequently, the Ogun State Government took the matter to court which is not unusual in business circles. The matter is currently before the court and NNPC Ltd will prove its case accordingly.
“The NNPC Ltd therefore demands that Sahara Reporters retracts the said publication with immediacy and advice the online platform to verify its facts before publishing.”