By Godfrey AKON
The Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NEPC, says it has not been summoned before any House of Representatives panel or committee over alleged $1.67 billion crude oil revenue.
NEPC, in a statement by its Head of Corporate Communications, Ndubueze Okeke, said the council by its statutory mandate has no business with crude oil revenues.
Okeke noted that 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.
A publication by the Premium Times had alleged that “Reps Panel Summon NEPC MD Over Status of $1.67bn Crude Oil Revenue.”
By the statement noted that “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 N108, 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.
The statement therefore called on the online medium to “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.”