The Senate Public Accounts Committee on Thursday threatened to invoke the powers of the National Assembly to compel the Auditor-General of the Federation to appear before it after he failed to honour an investigative hearing into audit reports on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The warning came as the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Bello Shehu, disclosed that Nigeria spent N1.16 trillion on fuel subsidy in 2021, while N1.20 trillion was deducted from federation crude oil sales proceeds during the same period.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe North), is probing the 2021 to 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) on the oil and gas industry.
Presenting RMAFC’s submission, Shehu said fuel subsidy remained one of the biggest deductions from oil revenue in 2021.
According to him, “Fuel subsidy accounted for N1.16 trillion in 2021, while N1.20 trillion was deducted from federation crude sales proceeds.”
He added that other deductions included N16.20 billion for crude and petroleum product losses, N22.05 billion for pipeline repairs and maintenance, and N6.75 billion for strategic stock holding.
Shehu also faulted the method used in computing the constitutional 13 per cent derivation fund for oil-producing states, arguing that it undermines the objective of the provision.
He said, “The practice of computing 13 per cent derivation on the balance of revenue after deductions from the total collections is contrary to the intention of the derivation objective.”
According to him, deductions made before calculating the derivation allocation significantly reduce the amount due to oil-producing states, contrary to the constitutional intent.
The committee also received a submission from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), but resolved to defer its consideration until next Wednesday to allow members study the report in detail.
Dankwambo said the commission would be invited to return for further engagement after lawmakers had reviewed the submission.
The committee, however, expressed displeasure over the absence of the Auditor-General of the Federation, who neither appeared before the panel nor sent a representative.
He declared, “The Auditor-General must unfailingly appear before this committee on Tuesday next week or risk invocation of the powers of the National Assembly against him, which will lead to forced appearance.”
The Senate panel insisted that the Office of the Auditor-General plays a pivotal role in ensuring accountability in the management of public funds and must cooperate fully with the ongoing investigation into the NEITI audit reports.
The committee is expected to continue its hearings next week as it intensifies scrutiny of revenue remittances, subsidy payments, crude oil deductions and other financial transactions in the petroleum sector contained in the 2021–2023 audit reports.
