The immediate past Chairman of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Prof. Asisi Asobie, has disclosed that a total recoverable amount due to the Federation Account from Nigeria’s oil and gas industry during the last 10 years periods of NEITI’s audit of the sector still stands at over $8.856 billion.
Asobie stated that out of the amount within the period in context, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owed $3.996 billion in unremitted dividends to the Federation Account while the rest amounted to underpayments and non-remittances established through sampling of information and data gathered by NEITI in the course of its audit processes.
According to Asobie in his handover note which was presented to members of the newly constituted NSWG of NEITI in Abuja: “With the core function of ensuring that all payments due to the Federal Government from all extractive industry companies are duly made, we found and exposed the fact uncovered by NEITI auditors that total recoverable amount due to the Federation Account during the 10 years period; 1999 to 2008, was well over $8.856 billion. This would come to about N1.373 trillion at current exchange rate, and enough to wipe off the deficit in the 2012 budget.”
Giving insight into the amount of unremitted revenue for the periods, Asobie explained that: “For the 10-year period covered by the NEITI audit of the oil and gas sector, underpayments established through sampling of information and data gathered amounted to $4.860 billion. The amount of dividends to be accounted for by the NNPC is $3.996 billion.”
He charged the new NSWG, which is chaired by Mr. Ledum Mitee, to swiftly make efforts to activate and enforce provisions for penalties and sanctions as provided in Section 16 of the NEITI Act, adding that such anomalies should be discontinued in Nigeria’s extractive sector.
“The sanctions and penalties specified in the Act, if judiciously applied will go a long way in ensuring that government and companies are held accountable for the prudent management of revenue accruing from the extractive industries in Nigeria,” Asobie explained.
NEITI has conducted audit of operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector in its bid to uncover instances of anomalies in payment of revenue accruing from the sector. The audit that has so far covered 1999 to 2008 indicate shortages in funds remitted to Nigeria’s Federation Account and has pitted the transparency agency against several companies and government agencies that have variously disputed its audit reports.
Source: ThisdayLive
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