By Timothy Agba
Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI says collaboration are ongoing with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to recover about six billion dollars and another N66 billion owed the Federal government by industry stakeholders in the oil sector.
The Executive Secretary of the agency, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji who stated this while defending the 2025 budget before the House Committee on Petroleum Resources, Upstream noted that the agency has presented all its reports in the extractive industry to the parliament.
Dr. Orji, explained that NEITI was set up to enthrone transparency and accountability in the Nigeria oil and gas as well as the mining sector adding that the agency was handed a budget envelope of N6.5 billion for the 2025 financial year.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI said from its 2020 and 2021 report alone, over 3.7 billion dollars were recovered into government coffers as outstanding liabilities from companies operating in the Oil and gas sector in the country.
However, members of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources, Upstream queried NEITI for repeating items budgeted for in 2024, while also including items that are not justifiable in the current economic situation in the country.
A member of the Committee, Kafilat Ogbara said agencies of government should ensure that what they bring to the parliament as their budget comply with the line items specified in the budget and not just see the annual budget as a ritual of appropriating money so as to get their own share of the national cake.
Mrs. Ogbara queried why the agency will budget N32 million for meals in the 2025 budget when Nigerians are going through hard times, saying that there was no way one can spent such amount of money for meals in a year.
Also contributing, a member of the Committee, Ademorin Kuye, cautioned that in preparing the annual budget agencies of government should be mindful of the economic situation in the country adding that the impression of Nigerians is that the National Assembly is a rubber stamp and will approve anything that is brought to them by government agencies.
Chairman of the Committee, Alhassan Ado Doguwa also faulted the language used by the agency in the preparation of the budget and the inclusion of the National Assembly as those benefiting from its welfare package.
Alhaji Doguwa said the since the committee was constituted, it has not visited the agency on oversight, wondering why they will be included in such welfare package, adding that the only welfare they House expect from them was the welfare of the Nigerian people.
The Chairman however assured that the Committee was ready to support the agency in actualising its mandate.
