The debts amounting N2.659 trillion could have constructed all the roads, built all installations, and covered the entire capital budget of the Nigeria government in 2020
77 oil and gas companies are indebted to the Nigerian government with a whooping $6.48billion equivalent to N2.659 trillion, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has declared.
Platforms Africa reports that the Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who said this during a media briefing on the status of EITI implementation in Nigeria and the agency’s mid-year scorecard in the past seven months, maintained that the debts skyrocketed due to non-remittance of petroleum profit tax, company income tax, education tax, value added tax, withholding tax, royalty and concession on rentals by the defaulting oil and gas companies.
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A breakdown of the figures shows that a total of $143.99million is owed as petroleum profit taxes (PPT), $1.089billion as company income taxes (CIT) and $201.69Million as education tax. Others include $18.46million and £972,000 as Value Added Tax, $23.91million and £997,000 as Withholding Tax, $4.357billion as royalty oil, $292.44million as royalty gas, while $270.187million and $41.86million were unremitted gas flare penalties and concession rentals respectively.
A comparative analysis shows, according to the NEITI boss, that the huge sum of N2.659trillion could have covered the entire capital budget of the federal government in 2020 or even used to service the federal government’s debt of $2.68billion in 2020.
He explained that the disclosure is important and timely in view of the government’s current search for revenues to address citizens’ demand and provide infrastructure. He added that the sum which is even higher than the entire projected oil revenue for 2021, if recovered, could fund about 46% of Nigeria’s 2021 budget deficit of N5.6trillion.
“This is why NEITI is set to work with the government to provide relevant information and data to support efforts at recovering this money,” Orji stated.
He further listed achievements recorded by the agency since his appointment in February to include; re-constitution of the NEITI Board; commencement of process to review NEITI Act; timely publication of audit reports and securing permanent office accommodation for the agency after 17 years of renting.
Others include the appointment of NEITI into the implementation of the PIA; commencement of the development of a 5-year NEITI Strategic Plan (2022-2026); NEITI Audit Automation Project; NEITI’s appointment to lead the global EITI Contract Transparency Network; Designing of a new Interactive website and reconstitution of the civil society and communication sub-committee, among others.
