Stanley Nkwazema
18 January 2008
Abuja — Executive Secretary, Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Alhaji Kabir Mohammed, has admitted that former president Olusegun Obasanjo misused funds allocated to the organisation, in violation of laid down rules.
Mohammed, who appeared before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream)said Obasanjo controlled the funds, adding that the PTDF has a reserved account with the Central Bank of Nigeria, but PTDF does not control that account.
According to him, the PTDF was one of the institutions that operated without appropriation, which goes against provision of Section 3 of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund Act 1973, which says such disbursements "shall be made in accordance with the rules made by Minister of Finance and approved by the National Assembly."
He said the money accruing to the Fund for the Signature Bonus was not collected directly by the PTDF, but by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), which pays it into an account with the Accountant General of the Federation.
He said, "we don't collect the Signature Bonus directly. It is usually collected by the DPR who sell the (oil) blocks. When the DPR publishes the oil blocks, it collects the money."
When it collects the money, it pays into an account under the control of the Accountant General of the Federation, which is called PTDF Reserve Account.
The committee had in a letter dated December 13, 2007, written to the Executive Secretary, requested him to provide it with the applicable laws for management of the Fund, but the Executive Secretary's response infuriated the Chairman, Honourable Tam Brisibe, who accused the Fund of deliberately trying to mislead the lawmakers.
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