The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, has debunked an online report attributed to an online newspaper called Premium Times, over Status of $1.67bn Crude Oil Revenue.
This was contained in a statement by the Head, Corporate Communications, NEPC, Ndubueze Okeke made available to newsmen on Tuesday.
Okeke said the online publication titled “Reps Panel Summon NEPC MD over Status of $1.67bn Crude Oil Revenue” which was published on June 5, 2023, is totally false and capable of misleading the general public and stakeholders in the non-oil export sector, thereby bringing the Council into disrepute.
Read the statement below:
The attention of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) is drawn to an online publication by the Premium Times with the title “Reps Panel Summon NEPC MD Over Status of $1.67bn Crude Oil Revenue”.
The Management of NEPC wishes to state that the said online publication which was published on June 5, 2023, is totally false and capable of misleading the general public and stakeholders in the non-oil export sector, thereby bringing the Council into disrepute.
The NEPC is statutorily mandated to develop and promote the diversification of the economy through the export of non-oil products and services. In this wise, the NEPC, pursuant to its mandate is not and has never been charged with regulating or coordinating the export of crude oil or otherwise since it was established in 1976.
Indeed the NEPC’s objectives and functions as encapsulated in the Nigerian Export Promotion Council Act, Cap NI08, Laws of the Federation 2004, is to specifically promote non-oil export as against promoting crude oil export.
The Council was therefore established to actually discourage reliance on only crude oil as a means of revamping the Nigerian economy. It is therefore ironic that the publication by Premium Times is now foisting a role on the NEPC that is quite at variance with its fundamental objectives.
Furthermore, the Chief Executive Officer of the NEPC who is charged with the day-to-day running of the Office is designated as “Executive Director” (ED) and not “Managing Director” (MD) as erroneously stated in the online publication.
A cursory glance at the NEPC enabling Act/website or a call to the Council to verify this story in line with standard practice in journalism would have curtailed — this embarrassing story.
For the avoidance of doubt, it is imperative to state that:
(i) The NEPC has not been summoned before any Reps Panel or Committee of the House of Representatives on alleged $1.67billion crude oil revenue.
(ii) The NEPC by its statutory mandate has no business with crude oil revenues.
(iii) The NEPC is not a party to any suit and has never been a party to a suit involving any company in the oil sector as erroneously indicated in the story under reference.
The Management of NEPC, therefore, requests that you immediately retract the said publication with an unreserved apology as the said publication is capable of damaging the image of the NEPC as a reputable agency of government.
