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<p>The <a target="_blank" href="http://gistreel.com/tag/NEITI"><strong>Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI)</strong></a> has announced its collaboration with the <a target="_blank" href="http://gistreel.com/tag/EFCC"><strong>Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)</strong></a> to recover $6 billion and â¦66 billion owed to the federal government by oil and gas companies.</p>
<p>NEITI’s Executive Secretary,<strong> Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this on Monday while defending the organization’s 2025 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream).</strong></p>
<p>According to NEITI’s September 2024 report, as of June 2024, the federal government’s outstanding revenues from the oil and gas sector stood at $6.071 billion and â¦66.4 billion. These include unpaid royalties and gas flare penalties owed to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as of August 31, 2024.</p>
<p>NEITI also reported $21.9 million and â¦492.8 million in unpaid petroleum profit taxes, company income taxes, withholding taxes, and VAT due to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) by June 2024.</p>
<figure id="attachment_1148231" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1148231" style="width: 1500px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1148231" alt="" width="1500" height="979" data-lazy- src="https://toptechblitz.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/EFCC-2.webp.webp"/><img decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-1148231" src="https://toptechblitz.com.ng/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/EFCC-2.webp.webp" alt="" width="1500" height="979" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1148231" class="wp-caption-text">EFCC</figcaption></figure>
<p>“NEITI is working with the EFCC to recover $6 billion and â¦66 billion owed to the federal government of Nigeria, as disclosed in our last report published in September 2024 and October 30 last year. That process is ongoing,” Orji stated.</p>
<h3>2025 Budget Presentation</h3>
<p>Orji presented NEITI’s â¦6.5 billion budget proposal for 2025, with â¦2.220 billion allocated for personnel costs, â¦1.722 billion for overheads, and â¦2.575 billion for capital projects. He added that NEITI plans to release a new report on the oil and mining sectors in 2025.</p>
<h3>Criticism of Budget Allocations</h3>
<p>The budget proposal drew criticism from lawmakers over certain allocations, particularly the â¦32 million earmarked for meals.</p>
<p>Kafilat Ogbara, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Lagos, described the amount as excessive.<br />“There is no way you can spend that amount on meals in a year. MDAs should ensure their budget proposals align with actual needs and purposes,” she said.</p>
<p>Ademorin Kuye, another lawmaker from Lagos, cautioned against extravagant proposals, emphasizing the need for prudence.<br />“The National Assembly will not rubber-stamp extravagant budgets. We must consider the economic situation in the country,” he said.</p>
<p>Committee chairman Alhassan Doguwa echoed these sentiments, urging agencies to be mindful of public spending.<br />“All these proposals will be funded by the Nigerian people. Some presentations sound insulting to the public,” Doguwa said.</p>
<p>However, he assured the committee’s support for NEITI’s mandate to ensure transparency and accountability in the extractive industries.</p>
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