NEITI, OAGF collaborate to track oil, gas revenue

From Uche Usim, Abuja

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation are collaborating to track oil and gas revenue that accrue to the Federal Government to ensure appropriate remittances.

Obsolete laws and archaic operating systems have made it difficult for NEITI to independently determine oil and gas accruals unless what is declared by relevant government agencies.

The Accountant General of the Federation expressed his support to this agenda when he received the executive officials of NEITI led by the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, who came on a courtesy visit.

Idris, while reacting to NEITI’s request for support to effect requisite reforms in the management of the country’s oil and gas revenues, assured that the Federal Treasury, “will partner and give the necessary support to NEITI to achieve efficient monitoring of oil and gas revenue accruals to the government”.

He commended the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) for the successes it has recorded so far, adding that the effort of the Agency to entrench probity, transparency and accountability in the management of the country’s oil and gas revenues is in line with the government’s financial management reforms initiatives.

The Accountant General of the Federation also made a case for integration of NEITI as an institutional partner in the Federal Government’s strategic revenue growth initiative. He reasoned that integrating the Agency into the Federal Government’s strategic revenue growth initiative will be a big leap forward in government’s vision of improving revenue collection, mobilization and identifying additional sources of revenue.

He noted that operating under obsolete laws has greatly hampered the activities of the Agency and called for periodic review of NEITI Act and other laws that regulate the operations of the oil and gas sector to reflect current realities.

In his remarks, the Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji , said NEITI was established to track revenues accruing to the government from oil and gas transactions, especially remittances of such revenues to ensure accountability.

Dr. Orji commended the Accountant General of the Federation for the successes so far recorded in the government financial management reforms initiatives and solicited support for the Agency’s activities and challenges.