In a letter addressed to Mele Kolo Kyari, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has demanded the disclosure of Nigeria’s daily oil production and export volumes within seven working days.
SERAP alleges that the NNPC has failed to provide information on the amounts of barrels of oil produced and exported, as well as the remittance of oil revenue to the public treasury since the removal of subsidy on petrol.
According to the letter signed by SERAP Deputy Director Kolawole Oluwadare, there is a legitimate public interest in obtaining this information.
The organization emphasizes that Nigerians have the right to receive information without interference and that transparency is crucial to safeguarding the fundamental interests of citizens.
The letter partly stated, “Nigerians are entitled to the right to receive information without any interference or distortion, and the enjoyment of this right should be based on the principle of maximum disclosure, and a presumption that all information is accessible subject only to a narrow system of exceptions.”
“By Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on the details of barrels of oil Nigeria produces and exports every day and the total amounts of revenues generated and remitted to the public treasury.”
SERAP argued that the “Opacity in the amounts of barrels of oil the country produces and exports daily, the revenues generated and remitted to the public treasury would have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of the citizens and the public interest.”
The organization warns of potential legal action if the NNPC fails to respond within the stipulated seven days.
SERAP’s call for transparency comes on the heels of allegations by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who claimed that “the NNPCL is failing to remit enough foreign exchange into the treasury despite the removal of fuel subsidy.”