The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has described as “a misconception and misrepresentation” a call by a lawmaker in the red chamber, Senator Barinada Mpigi for the investigation of NEITI over a missing $15 billion extractive industry revenue.
NEITI in a statement said it is not a revenue generating agency and has no powers under the law to either collect, keep custody or manage government revenues.
Rather, the organisation said supports government to mobilise revenue for its development activities by beaming searchlight on leakages, wastages and other areas through which government can optimise its revenue take from the country’s natural resources.
The lawmaker representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District, Senator Barinada Mpigi, recently called for an investigation of NEITI over reports of missing $15 bilion and another N200 billion unaccounted for between 2020 and 2021.
Mpigi, in a motion to the Senate, noted that it was important for the Senate to launch an immediate investigation into the issue of missing money and crude which he said had continually sabotaged government efforts in ensuring that fuel was available and affordable in the country.
The Senator partly posited in the motion: “I am concerned that over $15 billion and another N200 billion are missing and unaccounted for by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative between 2020 and 2021.
“The rising unremitted revenues due to the federation to the tune of $9.85bn out of total crude oil and gas revenue of $23.04bn represents a 13 per cent increase from the total $20.45 billion realised in 2020.
“The unremitted revenue of $278.81 million earned by the federation from trial marketing under first exploration and production JV, $7.61 million from OML 116 operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, and $5.85 billionproceeds from the sale of domestic crude oil, include about $871.15 million unremitted crude sales as of December 31, 2021.”
He stated that during the year under review, a total of 54 companies accounted for a total metered crude oil production of 634.60 million barrels, adding that 68.47 million barrels out of this was lost to production adjustments, measurement error and theft/sabotage, leaving a balance of 566.13 million barrels as “fossilised production for 2021, which includes both crude oil and condensates”.
However, in a statement on Wednesday by Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, Deputy Director/Head Communication and Stakeholders’ Management, NEITI said this clarification on NEITI’s position became necessary due to a story in a section of the media credited to a member of the Senate titled “Lawmaker demands NEITI’s probe over missing $15 billion, N200 billion”.
She said NEITI viewed the report as misleading, a mix-up of issues and misrepresentation of facts contained in its latest oil and gas industry report released at a public event held on the Sept. 18, 2021 in Abuja.
Onuorah explained that the sum of $8.26 billion dollars (and not $15 bllion as attributed to the lawmaker by the newspaper report) was the public disclosure by NEITI.
She said it was a disclosure as potential collectible revenues due to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as outstanding liabilities.
She also clarified that in the same direction the sum of N200 billion was another revelation by NEITI in the same report as funds expended on the repair of the nation’s refineries between 2020 and 2021 which it queried in the same report since the refineries were not working.
She said: “The funds in questions and other crucial facts, information and data are contained in the recently released NEITI Report.
“For avoidance of doubt, the core responsibility of NEITI is to release this information and data to the public while it is within the mandates of the legislator, the civil society and the citizens to use the disclosed information for advocacy and civic engagements.
“NEITI is fully aware that the relevant Committees of the National Assembly are currently working closely with NEITI to address the findings and recommendations thrown up by the report.
“It is therefore a misconception and misrepresentation of the position of the law maker calling for the investigation of NEITI over a missing $15 billion revenue.”
Onuorah further said the clarification became necessary in other to re-focus attention on the basis for the conduct of the reports released by NEITI.
This, she said was to highlight findings in the reports, ensure better implementation of NEITI’s report recommendations, address the lingering issues in the extractive sector, and improve optimisation of Nigeria’s extractive endowments for the benefit of all Nigerians.
