There was steep decline in oil revenue between 2011 and 2015, Nigerian Extractive Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Executive Secretary Waziri Adio said yesterday.
Nigeria, he said, earned about $68.4billion from oil in 2011, and a paltry $24.7billion in 2015.
He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was yet to remit into the Federation Account the $16, 898,725, 000 dividends which accrued to the government from its share in the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) between 2000 and 2015.
The NNPC, he said, claimed that it received instruction from former President Goodluck Jonathan to warehouse the fund and spend as directed.
NEITI has demanded for a copy of the directive from the ex-President.
But Adio noted that the level of malfeasance in the oil and gas industry has reduced under President Muhammadu Buhari.
The nation, he said, was now experiencing more accountability and transparency in the sector than before.
Adio made these known at a session tagged โAnti-Corruption Situation Room in Abujaโ during a training workshop organised by the Human Environmental Agenda (HEDA) Resource Centre in conjunction with MacArthur Foundation.
His presentation focused on the highlights of the NEITI 2015 Oil and Gas Audit Report which covered 75 entities including 54 oil and gas companies; three refineries; 10 agencies; seven
generating companies (GENCOs), Nigerian Gas Company and NLNG.
Nigeria, he said, had been experiencing a โsteady decline in oil revenue since 2011 but all the decline had been in single digit between 0 and 9.
โBut it is only in 2015 that we had a major decline that not only went into double digit but more than 50 per cent. And this was as a result of a sharp drop in oil price but also the constraints in our oil production.
A breakdown of the revenue decline is as follows:
2011โ$68.4b; 2012โ$62.9b; 2013โ$58.01b; 2014โ$54.55b; and 2015โ$24.7b.
Adio said it was time the government, civil society groups and Nigerians asked questions on the whereabouts of the $16.8billion NLNG dividends.
He said: โNNPC confirmed receipt ($16.8b) but no evidence of remittance to Federation Account. NNPC said it received instruction from President to warehouse the fund and spend as directed.
โNEITI requested NNPC to provide evidence of the presidential directive and the statement of account on NLNG dividends.
โWe own 49 per cent interest in NLG and the private investors about 51 per cent. Between 2000 and 2016, the total money paid by NLNG as dividends to NNPC which is holding the 49% interest on account of the the Federation came to $16.8b in 16 years.
โThere are some issues around these dividends. The first is that there is a paper trail, nobody denies that NLNG pays dutifully on time to NNPC and the oil corporation has records it received the money. In fact they dispute many things about what we do but not this one. And
they will tell you that NLNG Account is one of the best accounts in NNPC.
โBut the money does not go into the Federation Account. They receive it, they hold it. They said there is a confusion about who holds the investment in NLNG whether it is the Federation or the Federal Government.
โA very good argument but the counter-argument is that all the interests that NNPC holds in trust are usually held in trust for the Federation.
We believe that it is one of the best investments we have had. It is a model.โ
Adio advised Nigerians to show interest in the oil sectorโs development, saying: โNo matter how much we work in NEITI, if citizens do not engage robustly, it will come to naught. If the information we generate is not used, it is useless.
โLet us try and understand what is going on in the oil sector. The resources we have do not belong to the government; they belong to the people of Nigeria. It is a sector that is very technical and the people who are benefiting from the status quo who want to keep it
secret. There is nothing in the oil and gas sector that cannot be understood. We must ask questions based on evidence.
โI know that of recent we have had more transparency and accountability in the system. Also, the level of malfeasance has reduced.โ
Findings confirmed that about $7.85billion was withdrawn from the NLNG Dividend Account in March 2011 for the Brass LNG Project for which payment should spread for five years.
Former Minister of Petroleum Resources Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke on March 30, 2011, sent a memo to ex-President Jonathan that about $7.85billion be sourced from NLNG Dividend Account for the Brass LNG Project.
To the anti-graft agencies, the $7.85billion might have been used for either 2011 presidential campaign or looted.
A top source said: โAlthough the $7.85billion was to be sequestered for Brass LNG Project, only $1.15billion can be officially traced to NNPC.
โWe are working on clues that the bulk of the $7.85billion might have been diverted into private hands or used for the 2011 presidential campaign.
โDiezani and her collaborators in NNPC and Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) allegedly violated NNPC Funding Plan, which made the ex-President to give approval, for the Brass LNG project.
โOur detectives discovered that the Brass project was to be funded over a period of five years as follows: Year One($1.18b); Year Two($1.57b); Year Three($1.96b); Year Four($1.96b) and Year
Five($1.18b). Total is $7.85billion.
โWe want to probe the circumstances behind the withdrawal of $7.85billion at once in 2011. So far, about $1.15billion was said to have been spent by NNPC leaving a balance of $6.7billion to be accounted for.โ
Former Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) chairman Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, said it was important to promote transparency in the oil sector.
The nation must stop โcontinuous stealing in the oil sector.โ
He said: โWhen you continue to do things in your own wish corner, you will never get it right. You can imagine how much we are wasting on subsidy. Today, you hear SWAP, Offshore Processing Agreement and others. They are continuously stealing. We need to comply with the law because the law says that others must know what is going on in the oil sector.โ
