Chineme Okafor in Abuja

The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has raised the alarm over the circulation of fake letters of authorization purportedly from the NNPC to buy and/or sell Nigerian crude oil.

The Corporation yesterday called on members of the public to be wary of persons with fraudulent intents circulating letters authorizing the lifting of Bonny Light crude oil from Nigeria.

According to a statement signed by NNPC group general manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Ohi Alegbe, a paragraph in one of the fake letters of authorization in circulation reads:

“We hereby confirm that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has entered into contractual arrangements directly with Lavi International Corp to supply Bonny Light crude oil to the Lavi International Corp Associated Refineries and or Global Traders, and that the Lavi International Corp has the power and authority to sell or otherwise deal with the Bonny Light crude oil, the subject of those contractual agreements.”

The NNPC, however, stated that Messrs Lavi International Corp is not one of its crude oil off-takers for the 2014-2015 Term Contract Period and, therefore, has not been allocated any crude oil volume as speculated in the fake letter of authorization.

It further noted that the list of local and international companies duly approved as NNPC’s crude oil off-takers for the 2014-2015 Term Contract Period had been widely publicized and called on members of the public to avail themselves of such information to avoid being duped by unscrupulous elements.

“Meanwhile, we are working closely with relevant security agencies to track and bring to book all those behind these nefarious activities,” he said.