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NEITI recovers more N64bn from Mobil, Total, others

By BusinessNews Staff on July 2, 2014

The Nigeria Extractive Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed that it has recovered an additional revenue to tune of N64,401,841,370.40 billion which is approximately over $392 million that is owed to Nigeria from some oil and gas companies that were indicted of hydrocarbon revenue under remittances in its past audit reports.

NEITI also disclosed that an additional $5.8 million revenue underpayment owed to the Nigerian government by Express Petroleum and Gas Company is expected to be remitted to the coffers of the government within this week in line with its ongoing recovery of oil and gas revenue owed the country by operators in the sector.

Chairman of the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) of NEITI, Ledum Mitee said at the agency’s presentation of findings in its audit of fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement to governments and related agencies in Abuja that the money was recovered from Total, Agip, Mobil, Chevron, Midwestern and AMNI amongst others.

Mitee noted that since the recent reconstitution of the Inter Ministerial Task Team (IMTT) by the federal government last December, NEITI working with other relevant agencies of the government has recovered the money in addition to the $2 billion earlier recovered.

The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) process in Nigeria had recently uncovered vast discrepancies between what the government has received and what they should have received.

For example, between the three-year period of 2009 to 2011, the annual audit reports on operations in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry has revealed that companies owed tax payments adding up to about $8.3 billion.

But Mitee said at the audit reports presentation that: “Apart from the well documented recoveries of over $2 billion that have been made in the past, I am pleased to announce that since the reconstitution of the IMTT last December by the federal government, NEITI working with the relevant agencies through the IMTT, commendably uniquely Nigerian machinery for EITI implementation, have made recoveries from the 2009-2011 audit report alone.

A total of N64,401,841,370.40 from some companies, notably AMNI, Chevron, Midwestern, Mobil, Agip and Total, and another $5.8 million is expected to be paid this week by Express Petroleum and Gas Company.”

He further explained that such development amongst others has encouraged NEITI to implant the implementation of transparency in extractive industry operations mostly for the improvement of Nigeria’s macro-economic environment, strengthening of public expenditure management as well as the execution of institutional and governance reforms that could bring meaningful impacts in the lives of Nigerians.

Mitee added that the fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement audit which tracked the disbursements and applications of extractive revenues from the Federation Account to the three tiers of government and other related agencies that receives allocations from the Federation Account was meant to build on and realise the full potential benefits of the EITI process in Nigeria.

[This Day]

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