The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has said it had a strategy in place to check fraudulent activities in the country’s petroleum product depots.
Acting Chairman of the commission, Ibrahim Magu, disclosed this when the Managing Director of the Nigerian Products Marketing Company, NPMC, Umar Adiya, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
According to a statement by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Wilson Uwujaren, disclosed that Magu was responding to a request by Adiya for assistance in sanitising the sector.
NPMC, formerly Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, is a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.
“I assure you that we have intelligence on the activities in the depots and we will soon sanitise it. We have a strategy to check the fraudulent activities in the depots. We will partner with you to put your house in order,” Mr Magu said.
The EFCC boss said the commission would not mind raising joint teams that would deal with established cases of malfeasance from time to time.
He added that the EFCC had the capacity to help the NPMC fight corruption in the downstream sector of the oil industry of the Nation.
Describing the downstream sector as critical to the nation’s economy, Mr Magu congratulated Adiya for his appointment as the managing director of NPMC.
He, therefore, urged the management of the company to initiate new thinking in order to bring sanity to the sector.
Mr Adiya had earlier commended the commission for its giant strides towards eradicating corruption in the country.
He said the visit was necessary as the EFCC was one of the stakeholders of the company.
“We felt that any corporate system should identify with stakeholders that can help run their system.
“The EFCC is one of our stakeholders. We are here to appreciate your tremendous support to us at NPMC, especially in the area of revenue leakages.
“We are also here to show our support and cooperation as we move forward in what you are doing for us particularly,” he was quoted as saying.
The NPMC boss added that the company was spread all over Nigeria, especially at inland deports where it sells products to the entire market.
Mr Adiya said the company would not hesitate to call on the EFCC whenever it encountered any difficulty that required its intervention.
