The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has reported that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) did not remit $1.9 billion to the government's account by the end of 2021. NEITI conducts annual audits of the oil, gas, and solid minerals sector in Nigeria, and this revelation was made during the unveiling of the audit report in Abuja.
Ogbonnaya Orji, the head of NEITI, emphasized the importance of making this information public, stating that "we discovered this information and felt it was important that the public knows about it." The report also highlighted a 3.86 percent decrease in crude oil losses due to theft and sabotage in 2021.
Crude oil production also declined from 39.08 million barrels in 2020 to 37.57 million in 2021, affecting 29 companies. This decline was attributed to reduced production during that period.
It's worth noting that Malam Nasir El-Rufai, the former governor of Kaduna State, had previously called for the privatization of NNPC due to its failure to remit funds. He claimed that NNPC had not remitted any significant amount to the federation's account, relying instead on taxes and other revenues to sustain the country, while citing subsidy as the reason for the lack of remittances
