The Senate has resolved to investigate allegations of withheld funds by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, (NNPCL), including ?8.48 trillion in petrol subsidies, and $2 billion (?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, Sen. Musa Mohammed Sani.
The allegation was highlighted by reports from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (NEITI) and the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation, and Fiscal Responsibility Commission, (RMAFRC).
The investigation of ?8.4 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 ?2.7 trillion fuel subsidy claim by the NNPCL against the Government.
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, 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 (CNG) initiative as the underlying imperative for the adoption of the ?1,400 to one dollar. According to him: “Another issue to be addressed is the recurrent to-capital ratio which is very high”.
In their resolutions, the Senate also adopted inflation rate projections of 15.75, 14.21 and 10.04% for 2025, 2026 and 2017 respectively. According to the recommendations, “the 2025 Federal Government of Nigeria Budget proposed spending of ?47.9 trillion, of which ?34.82 trillion is retained. New borrowings stood at ?9.22trillion, made up of both domestic and foreign borrowings.
Capital expenditure is projected at ?16.48 trillion, with Statutory Transfers standing at ?4.26 trillion and Sinking Funds projected at ?430.27 billion.
