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The Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd, NLNG has shed more light on the $1.6 billion which sparked a row between the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
The fund is from the NLNG’s Company Income Tax and Education Tax, which it paid on June 17 to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), The Nation confirmed yesterday. The money has nothing to do with dividends from the LNG giant.
This is contrary to the PDP’s claim that the money was from the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s savings. PDP spokesman Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Wednesday, claimed that LNG’s dividend stood at $5.6 billion before the May 29 handover and would have been shared but for the insistence of former President Jonathan that it should be left for the incoming administration to manage.
NLNG Managing Director Babs Omotowa, in an exclusive interview with The Nation in Lagos, said the company paid $1.6b as Income Tax and Education Tax to the Federal Government through the FIRS for the 2014 financial year as required by law. He added that the company paid $1.3b last year. Its recent payment has generated a buzz because of the transparency of the Muhamadu Buhari administration, according to Omotowa.
Omotowa explained that dividends are paid quarterly or bi-annually, depending on income, adding that in the last 10 years the company has paid over $30b to its shareholders, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell, Eni and Total (49 per cent of this has gone to the NNPC).
The NLNG chief said: “The $1.6b we paid on June 17 was our Company Income Tax and Education Tax. The money was paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) as our 2014 income tax payment. You may recall that last year we paid $1.3b to the FIRS as our Company Income Tax and Education Tax for the previous year. So, that particular amount is for tax. Dividend is a different issue and different payment. We make dividend payment to our shareholders, who include NNPC, Shell, Eni and Total. Those dividends are paid to them quarterly or bi-annually, depending on how much cash we generate. Of course, in the past, over the past 10 to 15 years, we have paid over $30b as dividends to all our shareholders.”
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SOURCE: THE NATION
The fund is from the NLNG’s Company Income Tax and Education Tax, which it paid on June 17 to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS), The Nation confirmed yesterday. The money has nothing to do with dividends from the LNG giant.
This is contrary to the PDP’s claim that the money was from the Goodluck Jonathan administration’s savings. PDP spokesman Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Wednesday, claimed that LNG’s dividend stood at $5.6 billion before the May 29 handover and would have been shared but for the insistence of former President Jonathan that it should be left for the incoming administration to manage.
NLNG Managing Director Babs Omotowa, in an exclusive interview with The Nation in Lagos, said the company paid $1.6b as Income Tax and Education Tax to the Federal Government through the FIRS for the 2014 financial year as required by law. He added that the company paid $1.3b last year. Its recent payment has generated a buzz because of the transparency of the Muhamadu Buhari administration, according to Omotowa.
Omotowa explained that dividends are paid quarterly or bi-annually, depending on income, adding that in the last 10 years the company has paid over $30b to its shareholders, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Shell, Eni and Total (49 per cent of this has gone to the NNPC).
The NLNG chief said: “The $1.6b we paid on June 17 was our Company Income Tax and Education Tax. The money was paid to the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) as our 2014 income tax payment. You may recall that last year we paid $1.3b to the FIRS as our Company Income Tax and Education Tax for the previous year. So, that particular amount is for tax. Dividend is a different issue and different payment. We make dividend payment to our shareholders, who include NNPC, Shell, Eni and Total. Those dividends are paid to them quarterly or bi-annually, depending on how much cash we generate. Of course, in the past, over the past 10 to 15 years, we have paid over $30b as dividends to all our shareholders.”
Click here to read more
SOURCE: THE NATION
