The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said it is set to audit the revenues of 198 companies in the oil, gas, and mining industries.
The agency said the extractive companies and government agencies had already submitted information and data for the ongoing nationwide reconciliation and validation.
NEITI’s Acting Director/Head of Communications & Stakeholder Management, Mrs Obiageli Onuorah, said in a statement that the Executive Secretary, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya, disclosed this in Abuja while addressing a meeting of leaders from civil society organisations involved in the extractive sector.
Ogbonnaya, was quoted by the statement to have said that out of the 198 companies, 63 are in the oil and gas industry, meeting the materiality threshold of a minimum royalty payment of $5 million, while 135 companies, which met the materiality threshold of N6 million are from the solid minerals industry.
He said of the government agencies that either receive, take custody or manage oil, gas and mining revenues, 14 of such agencies for the oil and gas and eight relevant agencies for the solid minerals sector are covered by the ongoing NEITI industry reports.
The agencies are expected to disclose all payments received and expenditures incurred during the period under review.
Ogbonnaya explained that the level of participation of extractive companies in the ongoing industry audit is higher than in the last exercise conducted in 2021, where 190 oil, gas, and mining companies were covered.
He added that the data reconciliation and validation meetings for the oil and gas extractive companies and relevant government agencies were held and concluded in Lagos last week.
