NNPC denies claim it owes $8bn taxes

Debt row: NNPC says audit is misinforming public on its tax affairs

Nigeria's state oil company has rejected an audit by a government agency accusing it of owing billions of dollars to the state coffers in missing oil and gas revenues.

The audit released last week by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) found that the state oil firm owed 1.3 trillion naira ($8.27 billion) from crude oil sales between 2009 and 2011, echoing criticism from several probes last year on the country's oil and gas sector.

"The report contains fundamental inaccuracies which are misleading and constitutes misinformation to the generality of the public," the NNPC said in a statement marking its first public comment on the issue, Reuters reported.

The firm said it paid back 928 billion naira or about three-quarters…

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