The anti-graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared that it is a costly mistake for covered entities in the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit not to adhere to stipulated guidelines and processes regulating the exercise.
Speaking as special guest at the presentation of the NEITI 2023 Audit Report in Abuja, the Chairman of the Commission, Ola Olukoyede, warned all industry players, oil and gas companies and relevant government agencies involved in the audit process against refusal to comply fully with the annual Industry Audit process, saying such conduct would be considered as a costly mistake.
Olukoyede said where the work of NEITI stops marks the beginning of EFCC investigations.
He promised that the current NEITI Report on the Oil and Gas sector was now with the Commission for further necessary action.
Before the presentation of the latest audit report, he said the Commission signed off for recovery of a remittance of over N1 billion to the beneficiary agency of government based on findings from the NEITI Report.
The Chairman commended NEITI for consistently publishing credible data, promising to deepen cooperation with the agency in the interests of the country’s economy.
On his part, the Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Ikenga Ugochinyere announced that a private member bill sponsored by him to amend the NEITI Act 2007 before the floor of the House has already scaled its first reading to being the law in alignment with the current realities.
He advised all stakeholders in the NEITI process to partner with his Committee to ensure a smooth amendment of the NEITI law.
The Civil Society Representative on the NEITI National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG) Dr Erisa Danladi used the forum to remind the Civil Society and the Media that information and data for the 2022 and 2023 Oil and Gas Industry put in the public domain has provided enough tools for engagements and investigation through constructive advocacy.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji used the opportunity to thank President Bola Ahmed Tinubu Administration for supporting NEITI through his policy of non-interference in the work of the agency.
Orji welcomed the administration’s support for NEITI’s Open Data policy and announced that the agency has embarked upon establishing a Data Centre to serve as a one-stop shop for information and data on Nigeria’s extractive sector.
Also, the Centre, he said, would serve as a warehouse for all extractive industry data in aggregated and disaggregated formats for easy public access by multi-stakeholders, especially the civil society, the media, extractive industry companies, government agencies and the legislature.
Besides, Orji said the Centre would provide data information analysis, training and manpower development in data science education deployment and utilization required to sustain a robust public knowledge and understanding of Nigeria’s extractive industry.
The NEITI Executive Secretary further explained that under the scope of the first phase of the project, covered under the 2023 and 2024 budgets respectively the hardware infrastructure with integrated communications facilities have been completed since August 17, 2024 as against the initial projection of March 2024 as a result of complex challenges encountered, especially in the area of foreign exchange.
Orji expressed satisfaction with the completion of the hardware infrastructure now in place, adding that the next phase of the project involves content development and management. This phase, he pointed out, would involve data mining, cleaning, data migration, data storage, integration, data visualization and analysis.
The Executive Secretary also noted that the next phase would require “development, design and deployment of suitable software applications requisite skills and manpower, including training and retraining of staff. “There is also the need for provision of other necessary requirements not covered by earlier scope of the Data Centre Project.
This, he said, includes steady power supply, which the current public power supply situation cannot guarantee.
Orji gave assurance that working under the leadership of our Board, the National Stakeholders Working Group (NSWG), all these challenges would be addressed to put the Data Centre into optimal use as soon as possible.
He described as most encouraging the growing interests in the project, describing as innovative and the first by any EITI implementing country in the world to put together.
Already, he said NEITI was in talks with interested development partners such as the European Union, some Embassies and High Commissions who have expressed interest to offer technical assistance to NEITI on the development of the project.
On some key findings, including information and data contained in the latest oil and gas industry independent report released to the public in Abuja, NEITI said over 5 trillion standard cubic feet of gas was produced in Nigeria in the last two years.
A breakdown of the figure showed that 2.521 trillion standard cubic feet were produced in 2022, representing a decline when compared with 2.744 trillion standard cubic feet produced in 2021.
In 2023, the report revealed that the gas sector recorded a total production of 2.491 trillion standard cubic feet, representing only one percent drop in gas production when compared with the total production recorded in 2022.
From the Reports, NEITI further disclosed that a five year trend analysis (2019 – 2023) of gas production in Nigeria showed that the highest production volumes of 3.048 trillion SCF was recorded in 2019 and the lowest of 2.491 trillion standard cubic feet was produced in 2023. This, the report said, represented 82.73 percent increase in the country’s production capacity last year.
On gas utilization, the NEITI Report tracked that a total of 137.361 billion standard cubic feet of gas was used as fuel in 2022 from data provided by only 32 gas companies.
On the contribution of the oil and gas industry to employment opportunities during the period under review, the NEITI findings showed that only 6,728 persons were employed in the sector, out of which 83 percent were men and only 17 percent as women. In the same direction, the sector witnessed a steady decline in the sector’s contributions to country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
A trend of the contribution of oil and gas sector to GDP in Nigeria from 7.32 percent to 4.34 percent in 2022 and 5.75 percent to Nigeria’s total GDP of N202.365 trillion ($478.06 billion) as at last year 2023.
The Report attributed the decline to dwindling oil production arising from insecurity, oil theft and sabotage of oil facilities in the oil producing areas.
