Falana gives Kachikwu 7-day ultimatum to defend $60bn oil revenue loss

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, has threatened to sue the minister of state for petroleum resources, Ibe Kachikwu, if he fails to provide him with information on how Nigeria lost $60 billion oil revenue.

In a letter dated April 10, 2019, Falana wrote to the honorable minister, requesting a breakdown on how Nigeria lost $60 billion oil revenue from non-implementation of production sharing contract (PSC) terms between the federal government and international oil companies (IOCs).

Falana gave Kachikwu a seven-day ultimatum to make the information available, stressing that he would be forced to seek a court order should the minister failed to do so.

The lawyer claimed that he had previously alerted the minister to the non-implementation of the PSC terms when he was the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

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PSC terms between government and IOCs clearly spell out the amount of money that the country receives in signature bonuses, taxes and royalties and how much oil or gas the companies must share with the government during production and contributes largely to government revenue.

The letter read: “In my letter addressed to you in your capacity as the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), I called your attention to the refusal of the regulatory agencies in the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to enforce the Production Sharing Contracts signed with the International Oil Companies by the Federal government.

“In a public statement credited to you sometime in August 2017, you did disclose to the media that Nigeria had lost not less than $60 Billion due to the refusal of some public officials to implement the terms of the Production Sharing Contracts between the Federal Government and the International Oil Companies.

“In another public statement made on January 19, 2019 by the Acting Chairman of the Revenue, Mobilization, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Mr. Shetima Bana confirmed the loss of oil revenue of $60 billion arising from the non-implementation of the said production sharing contracts.

“In view of the foregoing, I am compelled to request you to furnish me with information on the revenue of $60 billion which the Federal government has refused to collect from the International Oil Companies as at August 2017. As this request is made pursuant to section the provision of the Freedom of Information Act you are required to supply the requested information not later than 7 days from the date of the receipt of this letter.

“TAKE NOTICE that if you fail or refuse to accede to my request, I shall be compelled to apply to the Federal High Court to direct you to avail me with the information on the loss of the oil revenue of $60 billion.”

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