New Telegraph

NEITI moves to recover N69bn, $5.31bn from oil firms

…to increase focus on mining sector

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed plans to adopt workable policies and strategies to ensure the recoverable revenues of N69.51 billion and $5.31 billion still outstanding from oil and gas companies, were recovered.

New Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who disclosed this during his maiden briefing with newsmen yesterday in Abuja, said the amounts were contained in the findings of the 2018 Audit report of the petroleum sector. According to him, the amounts do not include findings and outstanding revenues from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, which, he said, were being dealt with by a joint committee. Although he did not name the entities involved in the outstanding amounts, checks on NEITI’s 2018 audit report showed Addax Petroleum, Aiteo, Chevron, Conoil, Mobil, Nigerian Agip, Seplat, and Shell Petroleum Development Company, among 65 oil and gas companies with financial liabilities to the Federation Account. He said contrary to the expectations of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), the reports put out by NEITI was not adequately explored to ensure accountability and positive visible impacts on the citizenry. According to him, EITI, which was first implemented in 2004 in Nigeria, expects transparency and public disclosure of information and data in the extractive industry, to ensure accountability, poverty reduction and national development.

He said: “This is why my focus will be on the implementation of the remedial issues disclosed in the reports. “The current NEITI management under my leadership is already evolving policies and strategies that would ensure that the recommendations in our reports are followed through and statutory recoverable revenues due to government, which is put at N69.51 billion respectively, as revealed by the 2018 NEITI audit reports are recovered into government coffers. “These recoverable revenues consist of payments on oil royalty, gas flare penalties, Petroleum Profit Tax, Company Income Tax, Education Tax, Withholding Tax, Value Added Tax and NNDC levy. “We are no longer comfortable just releasing reports. Our emphasis will be on these and other recoverable revenues due government while ensuring that companies are treated fairly and given the opportunity to grow.”

Orji disclosed that to make this happen seamlessly, a framework was underway to look at existing issues as it affects individual agencies, adding that deeper engagement with the companies would aid mutual trust, knowledge sharing and technical capability. The NEITI boss, who further noted that NEITI would pay more focus on the mining sector, said since the inception of NEITI audit in the sector, there has been a steady revenue increase to the federation account. “From a paltry N8.19 billion recorded in 2007 audit, to over N67 billion earned from the sector in 2018, shows over a 900 per cent increase. A mere 0.18 per cent contribution of the sector to the GDP, shows that a lot more needs to happen in Nigeria’s mining sector. “We will, therefore, conduct fresh scoring studies on mining, paying particular attention to investment opportunities in the sector. We will take the lead in assisting government to have a fallback position as renewable energy and its attendant consequences get underway,” he added. Orji, who stressed on the need to strengthen the powers and functions of NEITI to address the challenges and emerging issues in the global EITI, maintained that his administration would be committed to the full implementation of the emerging issues in areas of contract transparency, beneficial ownership, mainstreaming, commodity trading, environment, gender and a host of others.

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