The Senate has invited Mr. Waziri Adio, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to brief its hallowed chambers on its 2013 Oil, Gas and Minerals Audit Report after a motion moved by Sen. Tijjani Yahaya Kaura (APC:Zamfara) on Thursday, 2nd June informed the senate that Nigeria had generated $58.07 billion and N33.86 billion from its hydrocarbons industry and solid minerals sector respectively.
According to Sen. Kaura, the NEITI report also indicated that the sum of $12.9 Billion paid by the Nigerian Liquified Natural Gas (NLNG) to NNPC between 2005-2013 was not remitted to the Federation Account and that the country lost $5.966 billion and N20.4 billion in its operation of Offshore Processing Agreements (OPA) by state oil firms, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and crude oil swap and theft. He further noted that Nigeria was yet to realize its potential in the solid mineral sector on account of its haphazard legal and tax regime, inaccuracy of production data and non transfer of accruable revenues to states and local government. He also expressed concern over the Nigerian Government’s inability to avert the trend in spite of other similar reports detailing fraudulent activities in the oil and gas industry.
Concurring with the aforementioned view, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki (APC:Kwara) mentioned that the report was first presented to him when he hosted the management of NEITI on Tuesday 31st May, 2016. He then supported the motion for the invitation of the Executive Secretary of NEITI to explain Nigeria’s revenue loss of about N1 trillion in the sector.
