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NEITI, EFCC Join Forces to Recover $72bn from Oil Sector
By Gloria Ikibah
The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has said it is in a partnership with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to recover a total sum of $72 billion owed to the Federal Government by oil industry stakeholders.
Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, disclosed this during the agency’s 2025 budget proposal before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) on Monday in Abuja.
He stated that NEITI, which was established to promote transparency in Nigeria’s oil, gas, and mining sectors, had been allocated a budget of N6.5 billion for 2025, covering personnel, overhead, and capital projects.
Dr. Orji highlighted key projects for 2025, including audits of the oil, gas, and mining sectors, research on fuel consumption, energy transition impacts, and a perception survey on EITI implementation. He noted that NEITI had previously recovered $3.7 billion in outstanding liabilities for the government from its 2020 and 2021 reports.
However, members of the House Committee criticized the agency for budgetary inconsistencies, including repeated line items and unjustifiable expenses.
Rep. Kafilat Ogbara questioned a proposed N32 million allocation for meals in 2025, and called for alignment with Nigeria’s economic realities.
Similarly, Rep. Ademorin Kuye urged government agencies to adopt prudent budgeting practices, emphasizing the public perception that the National Assembly merely approves all requests from agencies without scrutiny.
The committee called for greater fiscal discipline and accountability in government spending to reflect the nation’s economic challenges.
The Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Alhassan Doguwa, expressed dissatisfaction with the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (NEITI) 2025 budget presentation.
He faulted the language used in the budget’s preparation and raised concerns about the inclusion of the National Assembly as beneficiaries of the agency’s welfare package.
Doguwa questioned the rationale behind such allocations, and noted that the committee has not conducted any oversight visits to the agency since its constitution, and emphasised that the only welfare the House expects from NEITI is one that prioritizes the well-being of the Nigerian people, not personal benefits.
He said: While I agree that the budget stops at our desk and you are just presenting a proposal, I will like to say that the economy is actually bad, the population of people for whom we are actually here are crying out. Agencies of government must be mindful of what they spend out of public resources.
“All these proposals are going to be spend at the expense of the Nigerian people. Sometimes, we come to make presentations here that sounds funny and very insultive in the eyes of the people. When you say in your projection things like welfare package inform of ex-gracia, health insurance, welfare packages to staff and some critical stakeholders during welfare packages”.
Doguwa however reiterated the Committee’s readiness to support the agency in actualising its mandate, and said “your agency is a critical one and the legislature unappreciative of the work that you are doing.
“We will definitely try as much as possible to support you as long as you can justify the reasons for one expenditure or the other. Then the legislature will have no option than to support you and provide you with the enabling financial environment for you to discharge your duties and mandate.”
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Activist Omoyele Sowore, has pleaded not guilty to the cybercrime charges against him at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, had filed the charges against Sowore for calling him an “illegal IGP.”
Sowore had made the remark on his verified X handle.
However, the activist is standing trial before Justice Liman of the FCT High Court and was docked at about 10:00 am when the charges were read to him.
When the charges were read, Sowore pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
Meanwhile, several of his followers had protested in front of the court over Sowore’s arraignment.
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Five persons have been reportedly killed during an invasion by gunmen at Ajegunle-Powerline community in Akure North Local Government Area of Ondo State.
An eyewitness, Mr Akin Olowolafe, a farmer in the community, told newsmen on Thursday in Akure that five people were allegedly killed during the attack, which happened on Tuesday at about 3pm.
Olowolafe said the gunmen entered the farmlands while people were working and started shooting sporadically in the air, which resulted in the death of five farmers.
According to him, the gunmen usually attack the farmlands on a daily basis around the community, and it has made life unbearable for farmers.
Many farmers in the community have fled their farms for fear of being killed. The attacks are unchecked while their is no intervention from the appropriate authorities.
“The incessant clashes and destruction of farm crops are so worrisome and it has led to boycotting of farms by farmers in the area,” Olowolafe said.
Also, a labourer, Mr Fidelis Daniel, who corroborated the story, said that the corpses had been deposited at the mortuary.
“I was inside the farm too when the incident happened, I just heard the sound of guns, and I immediately ran to my house.
It was even God that saved me too, they would have killed me.
They suddenly came with weapons to destroy our crops and killed five people. Three people from Plateau and two from Kaduna State,” he said.
The Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer, CSP, Funmilayo Odunlami-Omisanya, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, however, denied the number of casualties.
“There was an attack on the community, and police is still investigating, but I cannot confirm the number of people
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