Reps to probe N8.4tn withheld by NNPCL

The House of Representatives on Wednesday asked its Committees on Finance, Petroleum (Upstream and Downstream) to investigate reports from the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Responsibility Commission.

It made this request while “alleging that the NNPC (now Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited) withheld N8.48tn as claimed subsidies for petrol.”

The House further stated that “the investigation will address the NEITI report stating that NNPC (now NNPCL) failed to remit $2bn (N3.6tn) in taxes to the Federal Government.”

The committees were further directed to verify the total cumulative amount of unremitted revenue (under-recovery) from the sale of petrol by the NNPC between 2020 and 2023.

This is as the House approved the 2025-2027 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper ahead of next week’s presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu.

MTEF is a multi-year plan for public expenditure that sets targets for budget expenditure and fiscal policy. They are designed to ensure these objectives are respected throughout the budget process.

FSP on the other hand, is a document that outlines a country’s fiscal policy and medium-term macro-fiscal framework. It’s a key component of the annual budget process and the Medium-Term Budget Framework.

Recall that President Tinubu on Tuesday, November 19, 2024, transmitted the MTEF/FSP to the National Assembly for consideration, following the approval of the Federal Executive Council.

The Tinubu-led government set the oil benchmark for 2025 at $75 per barrel with oil production projected at 2.06 million barrels per day.

The government also pegged exchange rate parameters at N1,400 per dollar and a projected Gross Domestic Product growth rate of 6.4 per cent per annum.

Dissolving into the Committee of Supply to consider the report of the Committees on Finance and National Planning and Economic Development; presiding officer and Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu had expected the usual ‘carried’ chorus from members when he commenced the clause-by-clause considerations of the 15 recommendations but the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda changed the tone of the exercise.

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