APC, PDP exchange words over $5.5bn NLNG tax money

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are having a go at each other over the recent tax the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) paid to the government.

The APC asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to account for $5.5 billion realized from NLNG since 2004.

In a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, on Sunday, the party also called on the federal government to look into the matter and find out what happened to the previous taxes the parastatal paid to the government.

According to Vanguard, APC said the PDP was grandstanding by questioning the source of the relief money the government would give bankrupt states.

“Whereas the Presidency corrected the initial erroneous report that the shared money was sourced from the Excess Crude Account (ECA), the skittish opposition continued to insist it was from the ECA and that it was part of the ‘savings’ by the Jonathan Administration.

“Well, we can tell Nigerians that the $2.1 billion was sourced from the $1.6 billion Company Income Tax/Education Tax paid to the Federal Government on June 17, 2015, over two weeks after the Jonathan Administration left office, as well as the $500 million tax paid by Shell. We can tell Nigerians that this is the first time the payment of the Income Tax/Education Tax by the NLNG was being disclosed by any government, in addition to paying it into the Federation Account for sharing, hence those who call it their ‘legitimate’ earnings should be asked why they did not demand the sharing of such ‘legitimate’ earnings in the past.

“We can tell Nigerians that apart from the said $1.6 billion NLNG payment for 2015, NLNG also paid $1.4 billion as Income Tax/Education Tax in May 2014; paid $0.3 billion as Education tax to the Federal Government  in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and $1.2 billion in VAT and With-holding Tax to the Federal Government since 2009. These payments are just those made in the past six years alone, hence there were other payments before then.

“In addition, dividend payments totalling $4,728,136,946 was paid to the Federal Government between 2004 and 2009, out of which only $127,851,348.19 was credited to the FG’s Independent Account with JP Morgan, leaving a balance of over $4 billion. The questions to ask therefore are why all the past taxes and dividends were neither fully paid into the Federation Account nor shared by the three tiers of government and what happened to the funds,” it said.

APC said now that Buhari has started to ensure that all funds due to the Federation Account are paid in there as well as plugging all financial leakages, in an effort to restore transparency to the system, it is important to let Nigerians know why all due funds were not paid into the Federation Account in the past and what happened to such funds.

The party also said that as part of the investigation, the PDP must be asked where it kept the $5.5 billion which it said was the dividend paid to the FG by the NLNG before the May 29 handover.

“Since, according to the PDP, President Good luck Jonathan asked that the money be ‘left for the incoming administration to manage’ it is important for the party, therefore, to tell Nigerians in which account the money was ‘saved’ because it is definitely not in the Federation Account,” it said.

courtesy of: vanguard