Reps query agency over N32m proposal for meal
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said it is collaborating with the Economic and Financial Crime Commission ( EFCC) to recover six billion dollars and another N66 billion oil debt owed the Federal government.
The Executive Secretary, NEITI, Orji Ogbonnnaya, stated this, yesterday, when he appealed before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources, Upstream.
Orji assured that NEITI is committed to ensuring probity in the oil and gas as well as the mining sector.
According to him, some of the critical activities to be undertaken by the agency in the year 2025 include conducting industry reports of the oil, gas and mining sector.
He added that NEITI will also undertake fiscal allocation and statutory disbursement audits, research studies on the actual volume of Premium Motor Spirit ( PMS) consumed in the country among others.
The NEITI boss explained that from its 2020 and 2021 report alone, over 3.7 billion dollars outstanding liabilities were recovered from companies operating in the oil and gas sector in the country.
Orji, while speaking on the 2025 budget proposal of his agency, said NEITI got a budget envelope of N6.5 billion for the 2025 financial year. This, according to him, consists of N2.220 billion for personnel, N1.722 billion for overhead and N2.575 billion for capital projects.
Nevertheless, the lawmakers queried the agency for repeating items budgeted for in 2024, and including some items that are not justifiable in the current economic situation in the country in its 2025 budget proposal.
Kafilat Ogbara queried the agency’s N32 million budget for meals in the 2025 budget, noting that “there is no way you can spend that amount of money for meals in a year.”
Ogbara added “most of our MDAs should ensure that what they are bringing as a budget proposal must actually tally with the line item and the purpose why you want to use such funds. Let us not just see budget defence as the money is there and we should share it. So, let us see how to get our own share.
