By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed a 36 per cent decline in subsidy payments made by the government in 2023 to N3.0 trillion from the N4.71 trillion paid in 2022.
This was contained in an audit of the country’s petroleum industry by the transparency body, in a report presented on Friday in Abuja.
This happened as President Bola Tinubu removed the buffer in May 2023, saying there was no provision for it after June.
Many argue that the removal was partial as the government continued to pay subsidies, although the presidency has been adamant about this.
The report also noted that oil companies’ indebtedness to the federal government in terms of royalties and taxes has risen to $6.175 billion.
The report revealed a breakdown of $6.071 billion and N66.4 billion in unpaid royalties and gas flare penalties owed to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as of August 31, 2024.
Additionally, there are outstanding petroleum profit taxes, company income taxes, withholding taxes, and VAT owed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amounting to $21.926 million and N492.8 million as of June 2024.
NEITI also revealed a 9 per cent drop in industry revenue in 2023, with $16.467 billion recorded compared to $18.106 billion in 2022.
The NEITI report disclosed a total loss of 7.68 million barrels of crude oil in 2023 due to theft and measurement errors, a significant drop of 79 per cent from the 36.69 million barrels lost in 2022.
Additionally, 153.44 million barrels of crude oil production were deferred in 2023, with companies like SPDC (39.13 million barrels), TEPNG (6.07 million barrels), and TUPNI (3.5 million barrels) being the most affected.
It also stated that a total of 23.54 billion litres of PMS (premium motor spirit) were imported into the country in 2022, while 20.28 billion litres were imported in 2023. This represents a reduction of 3.25 billion litres, or a 14 per cent decline, following the removal of the subsidy.
“A detailed 10-year trend analysis (2014-2023) shows that the highest annual PMS importation into the country, 23.54 billion litres, was recorded in 2022, while the lowest, 16.88 billion litres, was recorded in 2017. A total of N15.87 trillion was claimed as under-recovery/price differentials between 2006 and 2023, with the highest amount, N4.714 trillion, recorded in 2022”.
Speaking at the report unveiling, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr George Akume assured stakeholders that the government would continue to grant NEITI the freedom to fulfil its mandate to the country and the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, EITI.
“As the Chairman of the NEITI Board, I stand before you today to underscore the Federal Government’s respect for NEITI’s independence. While my role as Chairperson is a testament to the importance the government places on NEITI, it also signifies the commitment to ensure that NEITI operates independently, without interference, as mandated by the EITI standard. We must safeguard this independence with great care and diligence, ensuring that NEITI can operate free from undue influence”.
On his part, the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Olanipekun Olukoyode promised to use the latest report to ensure that the government recovers all outstanding revenues from the companies.
The Chairman announced that from NEITI’s past reports, EFCC recently recovered and remitted over N1 billion to the Federal Government coffers.