Stakeholders in the oil and gas sector have tasked the Federal Government to ensure full recovery of Nigeria’s oil and gas unremited revenue from oil companies.
The country’s unremitted revenue has been put at over N7 trillion, which were for divested asset’s legacy liabilities; payments for domestic crude allocation; and dividends from investment paid but withheld by an oil company.
The Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC), Auwal Ibrahim Musa Rafsanjani, said that Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit clearly articulated all the individual companies that have not been remitting funds that supposed to go the Federal Government.
He therefore called for more proactive measures from the Federal Government to put up sanction against firms that continue to siphon or short-change the country.
“The arrogance, by which some of these companies are doing it, cannot be tolerated by any country outside Nigeria,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria is having the challenge of unremitted fund due to corruption in the country.
According to him, some of the exploration and production companies can go as far bribing government agencies in order not to account for revenue generated.
“The reason the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is not respecting the directive of the Federal Government to remit money through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is because of the various influences some of the public offices are having on the corporation. They have turned NNPC into personal ATM.
“There was a situation about somebody who gave directive to NNPC to keep money somewhere instead of paying it into the CBN. This is not good for the country that claims to be fighting corruption.
“There is no way a government agency can be perpetrating this financial impunity. We have laws regarding how government institutions should operate and how fund should be remitted into the Federal Government’s coffers.
“Federal Government has been celebrating Single Treasury Account (TSA), but with the attitude of some of these government’s agencies, it is very clear that they don’t even respect that decision”.
The President, Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), Dr. Afe Mayowa, emphasized the need for the government’s agencies to ensure payment to other government enterprises for services rendered.
“We have to look and see how government establishment are crumbling others. There was a time the Federal Government owed Nigeria’s power utility company billions of naira. The power utility company will always continue to provide services to government’s agencies.
“These debts are huge. If government-to-government agencies don’t pay their bills, it will cripple the other part of government.”
He called on the concerned regulatory agencies to ensure there is efficient remittance of fund by the exploration and production companies to avoid the occurrences of unremitted fund,