The organisation also called for the immediate reinstatement of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of NEITI.
The Centre for Transparency Advocacy has commended the House of Representatives over its resolve to probe the N8 trillion unremitted revenue and fuel subsidy scam.
It also urged the House to address the issues revealed by the report and ensure that perpetrators are penalised.
This was contained in a statement issued on Friday, by the Executive Director of the Centre for Transparency Advocacy, Faith Nwadishi.
The organisation also called the President, Bola Tinubu to sustain the progress of the “NEITI implementation in Nigeria, by quickly reinstating the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of NEITI that was dissolved alongside other boards of MDAs in the country.”
According to her, the peculiarity of the mandate of the group justifies the call for its reinstatement.
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Recall that the House of Representatives on Wednesday, resolved to launch an investigation into the N8 trillion unremitted revenue, irregular contracts, and extra-budgetary spending, it received the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2021 Oil and Gas Report, in line with Section 4(3) of the NEITI Act.
The report was presented by the chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo).
Before laying the report, Ugochinyere noted that Order 18 Rule 75(2)(k) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives grants jurisdiction over the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream).
He noted that Section 4 (3) of the NEITI Act provides that NEITI shall cause its Report to be presented to the National Assembly for review and debate.
He added the establishment of NEITI in 2004 was part of the government’s overall economic and institutional reforms to ensure transparency and accountability in the governance of the abundant natural resources in Nigeria, which form the mainstay of the national economy.
He however, noted that since the NEITI Act was enacted in 2004, no session of the House of Representatives has ever received and debated the Report of NEITI, as required by Section 4(3) of the Act.
The lawmaker also lamented a rise in the amount of unremitted revenues to the Federation to the tune of $9.85 billion and a total crude oil and gas revenue of $23.046 billion, signaling a 13 percent increase from the total of $20.430 billion realized in 2020 as disclosed by the report.
“According to the NEITI Report, 54 companies accounted for a total metered crude oil production of 634.60 million barrels. Out of this, 68.47 million barrels were lost to production adjustments, measurement error, and theft/sabotage, leaving a balance of 566.13 million barrels.”
Consequently, the House directed its Committees on Petroleum Resources (Upstream and Downstream) to thoroughly investigate unremitted and misappropriated oil revenues, shoddy contracts, and extra-budgetary expenditures by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of the federal government, to the tune of N8trillion.
