NEITI Says 198 Oil, Mining Firms, Govt Agencies Have Opened Books for Industry Audit

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

A total of 198 extractive companies and government agencies have submitted volumes of information and data for the ongoing nationwide reconciliation and validation of revenues in the oil, gas, and mining industries, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), said yesterday.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Ogbonnaya Orji, announced this in Abuja while addressing a meeting of leaders from civil society organisations involved in the extractive sector.

Out of the 198 companies, Orji explained that 63 are in the oil and gas industry, meeting the materiality threshold of a minimum royalty payment of $5 million, while 135 companies, which met the materiality threshold of N6 million are from the solid minerals industry.

On the government agencies that either receive, take custody or manage oil, gas and mining revenues, Orji stated that 14 of such agencies were from the oil and gas and eight relevant agencies for the solid minerals sector are covered by the ongoing NEITI industry reports.

The agencies, he said, are expected to disclose all payments received and expenditure incurred during the period under review.

He explained that the level of participation of extractive companies in the ongoing industry audit was higher than in the last exercise conducted in 2021, where 190 oil, gas, and mining companies were covered.

 This included 121 solid mineral companies and 69 oil and gas companies that met the materiality threshold $5 million and N3 million in royalty payments, respectively, for reconciliation in the oil, gas, and mining sectors.

“The ongoing 2022/2023 Oil, Gas, and Solid Minerals Industry Reports have reached an advanced stage, in fact, the final stage,” disclosed Orji.

He added that the data reconciliation and validation meetings for the oil and gas extractive companies and relevant government agencies were held and concluded in Lagos last week.

The Chairman of the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB),  the Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission, and representatives from the Oslo-based international secretariat of EITI were among the chief executives and heads of government agencies who emphasised the importance of upholding NEITI’s corporate values, competency, and integrity through strong adherence to the EITI Code of Ethics, which NEITI, under the new board, is set to domesticate.

On the conduct of the Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement Industry Reports that track revenue inflows and utilisation, the NEITI executive secretary announced that procurement processes arising from public advertisements for competitive bidding to select consultants for the Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursements (FASD) were almost concluded.

He provided updates on NEITI’s renewed commitment to deepening engagements with extractive companies, civil society organisations, and the government at national and sub-national levels.

The Executive Secretary announced that NEITI has opened up engagements with Dangote Refineries and Petrochemicals, the biggest private sector investment in the downstream sector.

 “NEITI’s first meeting with the company centred on the need for compliance with EITI Standards and NEITI mandates and the opportunities for Dangote Refineries to join the EITI as a supporting company,” he said.

He pledged the support of the NSWG under the leadership of Akume to give the civil society the necessary support based on need and request where applicable.