The Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), Mr. Ahmed Idris, has promised to support the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in tracking oil and gas revenues due to the Federal Government.
He said the objective was to ensure that appropriate remittances are affected. He told the Executive Secretary/Chief Executive of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, and other leaders of the NEITI that his office “will partner and give the necessary support to NEITI to achieve efficient monitoring of oil and gas revenue accruals to the government.”
The AGF also commended the agency for its successes, adding that the NEITI’s effort 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.
He specifically advocated for the integration of the NEITI as an institutional partner in the federal government’s strategic revenue growth initiative because it would be a big leap forward in government’s vision of improving revenue collection, mobilisation and identifying additional sources of revenue.
A statement issued by the Director Information, Press and Public Relations, Mr. Henshaw Ogubike, said that Idris observed that operating under obsolete laws had greatly hampered the activities of the NEITI and called for periodic review of its establishment Act and other laws that regulate the operations of the oil and gas sector to reflect current realities.
However, Orji, in his remarks said the NEITI was established to track revenues accruing to the government from oil and gas transactions, especially by ensuring accountability in the remittances of such revenues.
He praised the AGF for the successes so far recorded in government financial management reforms initiatives and solicited his support for the agency’s activities and challenges.