Nigeria spent N1.16tn on fuel subsidy in 2021, RMAFC tells Senate

Senate panel threatens to compel Auditor-General’s appearance

Nigeria spent N1.16 trillion on fuel subsidy in 2021, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr Mohammed Bello Shehu, has disclosed.

He made the disclosure at the resumed hearing of the Senate Public Accounts Committee investigating the 2021 to 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) on the oil and gas industry on Thursday.

Shehu told the committee that, in addition to the subsidy payments, N1.20 trillion was deducted from proceeds of federation crude oil sales during the period under review.

According to him, other deductions from crude oil revenue included N16.20 billion for crude and petroleum product losses, N22.05 billion for pipeline repairs and N6.75 billion for strategic stockholding.

Shehu also faulted the method used in calculating the 13 per cent derivation fund for oil-producing states, saying it was inconsistent with the constitutional objective of the policy.

He said:

“The practice of computing the 13 per cent derivation on the balance of revenue after deductions from the total collections is contrary to the intention of the derivation objective,” he told the committee.

Meanwhile, the committee stepped down the presentation of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to allow members study its submission ahead of the agency’s reappearance next Wednesday.

The committee, chaired by Ibrahim Dankwabo, also expressed displeasure over the absence of the Auditor-General of the Federation from the investigative session.

Dankwabo noted that neither the Auditor-General nor any representative appeared before the panel or communicated any reason for the absence.

He warned that the Auditor-General must appear before the committee next Tuesday or face legislative sanctions.

“The Auditor-General must unfailingly appear before this committee on Tuesday next week or risk the invocation of the powers of the National Assembly, which will lead to his forced appearance,” the committee chairman said.