The Senate has resolved to investigate allegations of withheld funds by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, including NGN 8.48 trillion in petrol subsidies, and $2 billion (NGN 3.6 trillion) in unpaid taxes.
This is even as the Senate passed the 2024 – 2026 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) for implementation by the Federal Government.
The passage followed the presentation of a report by the chairman of the Joint Committees on Finance and National Planning and Economic Affairs by Sen. Musa, Mohammed Sani.
The allegation was highlighted by reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.
The investigation of N8.4 trillion withheld was sequel to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation report, which stated it had received the necessary and complete documents required to verify the N2.7 trillion fuel subsidy claim by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited against the government.
- Court convicts lovers for adultery, adjourns sentencing
- How we arrested suspected kidnapper after receiving N1m ransom, witness tells court
- Oba Otudeko: How not to treat an icon, by Ann Okwologu
- UCTH sacks worker over negligence following patient’s death
- Tanker explosion kills driver, injures one in Ibadan
The Senate approved the exchange rate projection of 1,400 USD for 2025-2027 with a provision for review in early 2025, based on prevailing monetary and fiscal policies.
They also resolved that any excess on the official figure would be used for debt servicing.
During the debate on the report submitted by the Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Sani Musa (APC, Nigeria East ), the lawmakers also demanded a reduction in the petrol prices against the backdrop of the commencement of crude processing by the Port Harcourt Refinery.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator Adeola Olamilekan referenced the Federal Government’s Compressed Natural Gas initiative as the underlying imperative for the adoption of the N1400 to one dollar.
According to him: “With the functioning of our refineries the demand for forex will drop. With the CNG initiative, Nigerians will have an option. For your information, if you leave Benin for Lagos, the amount of fuel is about N130,000 but with CNG, you can’t use more than N48,000. Another issue to be addressed is the recurrent to-capital ratio which is very high.
The need to support the manufacturing industries was also raised by Senator Yahaya Abdullahi of the Peoples Democratic Party, Kebbi North if the projections of the MTEF are to be achieved.
In their resolutions, the Senate also adopted inflation rate projections of 15.75, 14.21 and 10.04 percent for 2025, 2026 and 2017 respectively.
According to the recommendations, “The 2025 Federal Government of Nigeria budget proposed spending of N47.9 trillion of which N34.82 trillion is retained. New borrowings stood at N9.22tn, made up of both domestic and foreign borrowings.
Capital expenditure is projected at N16.48 trillion with statutory transfers standing at N4.26 trillion and sinking funds projected at N430.27 billion.
Follow The Eagle Online Channel on WhatsApp
