By Chukwudi Obasi, Abuja
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) disclosed that it is collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover approximately $6bn and N66bn owed to the Federal Government by oil sector industry stakeholders.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this yesterday during the agency’s 2025 budget defence before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream).
He stated that NEITI has presented all its reports on the extractive industry to the parliament, emphasizing the agency’s mandate to promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s oil, gas, and mining sectors.
Orji revealed that NEITI has been allocated a budget envelope of N6.5bn for the 2025 financial year.
This includes N2.22bn for personnel costs, N1.722bn for overhead, and N2.575bn for capital projects.
He outlined some of the agency’s critical activities for 2025, which include conducting industry reports on the oil, gas, and mining sectors, fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement audits, research studies on the actual volume of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) consumed in Nigeria, the economic impact of the energy transition, and a national perception survey on the implementation of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) in Nigeria.
Orji also highlighted that, based on NEITI’s 2020 and 2021 reports alone, over $3.7bn in outstanding liabilities from companies operating in the oil and gas sector have been recovered and remitted to government coffers.
However, members of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) raised concerns about the agency’s budget, questioning the repetition of items from the 2024 budget and the inclusion of what they described as unjustifiable expenditures given the country’s current economic situation.
Kafilat Ogbara criticised the agency for not aligning its budget proposals with the specified line items, urging government agencies to avoid treating the annual budget as a mere ritual for accessing funds.
Ogbara specifically questioned the allocation of N32 million for meals in the 2025 budget, stating, “There is no way you can spend that amount of money on meals in a year, especially when Nigerians are going through hard times.”
She added, “Most of our Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) must ensure that their budget proposals align with the line items and the intended purposes of the funds. We should not view the budget process as an opportunity to share money. Let us focus on how to allocate resources effectively.”
Similarly, Ademorin Kuye (APC, Lagos) emphasised the need for government agencies to consider the country’s economic challenges when preparing their budgets. He noted that the public perception is that the National Assembly rubber-stamps budget proposals without proper scrutiny.
Kuye said, “We are all aware of the economic situation in the country. We must be circumspect and prudent in our expenditures. The general feeling among Nigerians is that the National Assembly approves whatever is presented, but that is not the case.”
The Chairman of the Committee, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, also faulted the language used in the budget proposal and the inclusion of the National Assembly as beneficiaries of the agency’s welfare package.
Doguwa pointed out that since the committee’s inception, it has not conducted any oversight visits to NEITI, making the inclusion of lawmakers in the welfare package unnecessary.
He stated that the only welfare the House expects from NEITI is the welfare of the Nigerian people.
“While I agree that the budget stops at our desk and you merely present a proposal, I must emphasise that the economy is dire. The people we represent are crying out for help. Government agencies must be mindful of how they spend public resources,” Doguwa said.
He continued, “All these proposals will be funded at the expense of the Nigerian people. Sometimes, the presentations here sound absurd and even insulting to the public. For instance, including items like welfare packages, ex-gratia payments, health insurance, and benefits for staff and critical stakeholders in your projections is concerning.”
Despite these criticisms, Doguwa assured NEITI of the committee’s support in achieving its mandate.
He acknowledged the agency’s critical role and expressed the legislature’s appreciation for its work.
“Your agency is vital, and the legislature recognizes the importance of your work. We will do our best to support you, provided you can justify each expenditure. As long as you can demonstrate the necessity of your proposals, the legislature will have no choice but to support you and provide the financial environment needed to fulfil your mandate,” Doguwa concluded.
