NEITI begins 2015, 2016 audit of oil, gas sector

THE Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), on Thursday, said it has commenced the process for a comprehensive independent audit of the oil and gas sector between 2015 and 2016 respectively.

The Executive Secretary of the agency, Mr Waziri Adio, who announced this in a statement endorsed by the Director, Communications of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, a copy of which was made available to the Nigerian Tribune in Abuja, said the independent audit would be conducted in line with the principles and standards of the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI).

He explained that the independent audit of the oil and gas sector by NEITI for the period of 2015 and 2016 would examine the fiscal, physical and process issues from, within and among the companies and relevant government agencies.

The audit, according to him, will, therefore, undertake special verification and validation of information and data on the payments made by the companies to government entities and government receipts.

Mr Adio mentioned quantities and volumes of crude produced, balances payable or receivable on certain financial transactions, taxes, royalties on project by project basis, as well as social contributions and investment flows as other areas in which the audit would cover.

He said NEITI has already commenced distribution of the templates to participating companies and government agencies, pointing out that all populated templates with the required information and data were expected to be returned to the agency on or before May 31, 2017, because it was expected to conclude the independent audit and make its findings public by the end of the year.

The overall goal, according to him, is to ascertain if the fiscal, physical and process transactions in the oil and gas sector during the period under review were in line with the transparency and accountability standards as well as the principles of the global extractive industries transparency initiative which NEITI was implementing in Nigeria.

The statement quoted executive secretary of NEITI of announcing this in Lagos State at a workshop for major oil companies and relevant government agencies expected to participate in the exercise.

Mr. Adio, therefore, explained that the workshop was designed to acquaint the participants with the structure and content of the template, the kinds of questions that NEITI would ask and the answers expected to be provided by the covered entities.

“This workshop is to seek your views, suggestions and inputs as well as listen to your concerns on how to make the exercise hitch-free”, he added.

 

The Executive Secretary announced that NEITI would introduce a ranking reward system to incentivize participation of covered entities. Under the ranking system, companies would be graded based on their efficiency in populating the audit templates including the quality and depth of information and data provided, quick response to set deadlines among other considerations.

He further explained that the ranking system would be shared with over 51 member countries of the global EITI and multi-lateral organizations to serve as reference points on adherence to business ethics for major investment decisions in Nigeria.

Mr Adio, however, warned that NEITI would not hesitate to invoke relevant sanctions under the law on companies and other covered entities that fail to cooperate with it during the exercise.

All major international oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria were represented at the workshop. Also in attendance were relevant government agencies such as the NNPC, the FIRS, DPR, NDDC, NLNG etc. The event was also attended by a cross section of the media and the civil society.

While reviewing the templates, the representatives of the respective companies welcomed the objective of the workshop, describing it as a fundamental step in building partnerships and trust with NEITI in the execution of its mandate.

They all urged NEITI to note very carefully their observations and the issues they have raised at the workshop with a view to ensuring that the reviewed template suits the peculiar operations of the diverse covered entities slated to participate in the process.