Nigeria earned $741.74 billion from sales proceeds and taxes on oil and gas resources in 21 years, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Ogbonnaya Orji, has said.
He spoke at a special summit on legislative transparency and accountability organised by the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption.
He explained that the country earned $741.74 billion between 1999 and 2020.
“NEITI annually engages the companies to establish what exactly have they paid the government in terms of taxes, royalties, rents, and concessions.
“We look at the agreements and purposes that underpinned those transactions.
We also look at how much oil is Nigeria produced in a given year, and we design a template that suits those who received the revenue and those who pay. The companies declare what they have paid, and the government agencies declare what they have received.
“From our records, between 1999 and 2020, Nigeria has earned $741.74 billion from oil and gas alone. From the solid mineral sector, we have already counted in naira, N624 billion has been earned.
“A forum like this should be strengthened with data and that is where NEITI will continue to insist that we work with the National Assembly. The National Assembly needs information on what is paid, what is received and what the money is used for, and NEITI has that data,” he said.
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