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Nigeria earns $741.5bn, ₦635.3bn from mineral resources in 21 years

Published

9 months ago

August 17, 2023

The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has revealed that the country earned $741.5bn and N635.3bn from the oil/gas and solid minerals sectors respectively in a period of about 21 years.

The NEITI, through its Executive Secretary, Ogbonnaya Orji, announced on Wednesday at a stakeholder meeting that the earnings were between 1999 and 2020.

“These earnings were between the years 1999-2020 (oil and gas) and 2006-2020 (solid minerals sector earnings)”, it said.

In addition, NEITI reports have disclosed that Nigeria lost over 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46.16bn or N16.25tn from 2009 to 2020 from theft and sabotage.

Nigerian oil was discovered in 1956, and the country’s production commenced in the late 1950s. The oil industry has grown steadily to become a global behemoth, with a few exceptions owing to economic conditions.

Nigeria’s revenue from its mineral resources has been affected lately by industrial scale of oil theft in Niger Delta and increasing cases of illegal mining in some other parts of the country, notably in Zamfara state.

“So far, NEIT! has conducted a total of 13 cycles of reconciliatory reports in the oil and gas sector and 11 cycles of reports in the solid minerals sector. These reports have disclosed a total revenue earnings to the government of $741.48bn from the oil and gas sector and N635.3bn from the solid minerals sector.

“This amounts to losing over 140,000 barrels of crude valued at $10.7m daily. Furthermore, NEITI has reported on subsidy payments from the years 2005 to 2021 and its huge negative consequences to the nation”, NEITI said.

Orji stated that in these reports, it was revealed that Nigeria had spent $74.39bn, “which translates to N13.7tn. By the above figures, Nigeria spent an average of N805.7bn annually, N67.1bn monthly or N2.2bn daily”.

Mineral fuels, oils, and distillation products account for over 89 percent of Nigeria’s total export value. The export of these resources was over 42 billion dollars in 2021. Nigeria is the second-largest oil reservoir in the world and on the continent of Africa.

Related Topics:Featured Nigeria Oil and Gas

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Nigerian govt denies reports it plans to borrow pension fund for infrastructure

Published

15 hours ago

May 17, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The Nigerian government has denied reports that it plans to borrow the N20tn pension fund to finance infrastructural projects.

In a statement made in Abuja, Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, stated that the government would abide by the laws and guidelines in place pertaining to the pension fund.

Following a two-day Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, the minister reportedly informed reporters that the government would present a plan to use local funds, including the fund, to finance infrastructure development.

Edunstated that the government does not intend to exceed these legal boundaries, emphasising that the government was committed to protecting workers’ pensions.

“It has come to my notice that stories are making the round that the Federal Government plans to illegally access the hard-earned savings and pension contributions of workers. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

“The pension industry, like most the financial industries, is highly regulated. There are rules. There are limitations about what pension money can be invested in and what it cannot be invested in.

“The Federal Government has no intention whatsoever to go beyond those limitations and go outside those bounds which are there to safeguard the pensions of workers.

“What was announced to the Federal Executive Council was that there was an ongoing initiative drawing in all the major stakeholders in the long-term saving industry, those that handle funds that are available over a long period to see how, within the regulations and the laws; these funds could be used maximally to drive investment in key growth areas,” Edun clarified.

The plan to spend the pension fund was reported and was widely criticised. The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the Nigeria Labour Congress had earlier on Thursday urged the government to abstain from making any changes to the pension fund.

They stated, “Nigerian workers have entrusted their hard-earned savings for retirement security, not as a means for government projects. It is imperative to halt any further plans to tap into these funds, especially given the lack of transparency and accountability in past government borrowing practices.”

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Nigeria’s inflation hits 28-year high of 33.69% in April

Published

2 days ago

May 16, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Nigeria’s consumer inflation reached a 28-year high of 33.69% in April, up from 33.20% in March, according to statistics agency figures released on Wednesday.

President Bola Tinubu’s administration has slashed petrol and energy subsidies and devalued the local naira currency twice.

To manage pricing pressures, the central bank has hiked interest rates twice this year, including the highest hike in almost 17 years. The central bank governor has stated that rates will remain high for as long as necessary to reduce inflation. The bank will host another rate-setting meeting next week.

When compared to the previous year, the inflation rate in April 2024 was 11.47 percentage points more than in April 2023, when it stood at 22.22 percent. This implies that the headline inflation rate has increased dramatically during the last year.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food and nonalcoholic beverages remained the largest contributor to inflation in April. Food inflation, which accounts for most of the inflation basket, rose to 40.53% yearly from 40.01% in March.

Price pressures have left millions of Nigerians facing the biggest cost-of-living crisis in decades, as they fight to satisfy their most basic necessities.

Tinubu has offered a 35% salary increase for state personnel to alleviate pressure on government workers. To assist disadvantaged households, his government has resumed a direct cash transfer program and provided at least 42,000 tons of grains such as corn and millet.