Senate Summons NEITI Executive Secretary Over N1trn Oil Loss

Senate has passed a resolution to probe the loss of N1trn from the nation’s oil sector contained in the recent report of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI. This was also as the lawmakers extended an invitation to the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mr. Waziri Adio, to appear before it and brief it on the alleged fraud.

The resolution of the Senate to invite the NEITI boss followed a motion which was sponsored by Senator Tijjani Yahaya Kaura (APC, Zamfara North), in which he called on the Senate to urgently look into the report of the agency, where allegations of missing funds were made. The motion was entitled: “The urgent need for the Senate to look into the NEITI 2013 oil, gas and solid minerals audit report.”

The report, which was presented to the President of the Senate on Monday, had made stunning revelations that over N1trn oil revenue was allegedly not remitted to the national coffers between 2005 and 2013 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC.

In his lead debate, Senator Yahaya submitted that the report of financial activities in the oil and gas sector indicated that the nation made $58.07bn from hydrocarbon in 2013, while N33.86bn was realised from solid minerals in the same year. He also noted that $3.8bn and N358.3bn stood as outstanding revenues from NNPC and its subsidiaries in 2013, which were dues from unpaid consideration from divested oil mining leases.

The lawmaker said more worrisome was the non-remittance to the federation account by NNPC of $12.9bn, which was paid by Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas, NLNG, to it for payment into the federation account between 2005-2013. Yahaya further stated that the NEITI report showed that the country lost $5.966bn and N20.4bn in the sector from the Offshore Processing Agreement, OPA, by NNPC, crude oil swap and theft, among others.

He disclosed further that NNPC introduced different pricing methodology, which gave room for major oil and gas companies to under-pay royalties and profit taxes into the federation account, noting that it was time for Senate to tackle this kind of conspiracy, in order to save the nation from further financial crisis. Speaking to newsmen after plenary, Yahaya said the mere sight of the audit report made most senators feel so bad.

He said: “In that report, NEITI told Nigerians that this country has no accurate figure of what amount of crude oil that is lifted on daily basis. “As a result of that, billions of money are being lost because initially our daily production quota was over two million barrels and at the global market, it came down to 1.8 million barrels per day. But the truth is that nobody knows the accurate volume of barrels that go out of the country on daily bases.

“The report showed us that not all the funds accruing from sale of crude are remitted to the federation account. “So the management of NNPC decides how much to declare to the federation account for distribution to federal and state governments.

“Most worrisome is that this is a place where trillions of Naira are generated, yet larger chunk of the money is being siphoned on daily basis, yet the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC and other financial agencies close their eyes to it.”

Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu also suggested that the NEITI Executive Secretary be made to formally present the report at plenary. In his remark, President of the Senate, Senator Bukola Saraki, expressed serious concern at the huge loss of revenue the country incurred as revealed by the NEITI report.

He said: “I am aware of the report and what I discovered was a huge loss which has to be deliberated upon. “So the Executive Secretary has to come and submit the report officially upon which the senate will take the next necessary line of action.