NNPC dissociates itself from fake export clearance permit.

The Nigeria National Petroleum Commission, NNPC, has denied that it uses forged export clearance permit to export crude oil.

This rebuttal is coming on the heels of dire allegation that the NNPC employs fake documents to sell fuel abroad.

The acting Group General Manager, Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Fidel Pepple, in Abuja on Wednesday, described the allegation as false and baseless, saying “we neither have knowledge of the allegedly forged export permit nor its origin to warrant being linked with it.’’

The NNPC was recently accused of allegedly using fake documents to export millions of barrels of crude worth $1.6 billion for the third quarter of the year.

According to him, all crude oil and gas exports by NNPC follow a rigid and established guideline.

“We have always and continued to follow existing requirements for exporting crude oil and gas from the country.

“The process is complex and involves the Ministry of Trade and Investment, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the DPR and the Nigerian Customs Service.

“NNPC is not the issuing authority for export permit certificates,’’ he said.

He noted that it was the Ministry of Trade and Investment, upon satisfactory assessment, which issues Export Permit Certificates to the exporters, copies of which are sent to the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian Customs Service.

“It is therefore appalling for anyone to link NNPC with originating a fake export permit certificate or using same to export crude oil worth about 1.6billion dollars as reported by the newspaper.’’