Nigeria accounts for highest illicit financial flows globally -ICPC

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission ICPC has said that revenue accruing from Nigeria’s oil and gas industry is shrouded in opacity and the country is the greatest contributor to illicit financial flow globally due to activities of unscrupulous actors in the sector.

Chairman of the anti-corruption agency Prof.Bolaji Owasonoye stated this at the Summit titled,’Transparency and Accountability in the Oil and Gas Sector’ organized by the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-Corruption in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said that the oil and gas sector of the nation’s economy is the highest in revenue generation for the government accounting for more than 60% of national revenue and up to 90% of foreign exchange earnings.

He further said that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill into the Petroleum Industry Act PIA and the privatisation of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation NNPC is only a step in the envisaged reforms in the critical sector.

He said: “the challenges in the sector are aptly demonstrated by the recent public revelation of what many players in the sector know were happening all along- the outright theft of oil revenue by conspiracy and collaboration of the private and public sector players”.

He noted that transparency and accountability in the oil sector are what had kept the developed world on top of other nations and lamented that opacity is rife in most transactions in this sector resulting in illicit financial flows.

The erudite scholar who preferred solutions to some of the challenges said there is a need for the re-negotiation of contracts and agreements in the oil and gas sector.

 He noted that there are so many agreements in the industry that appear normal at face value but are innocuously faulty with confidential clauses that needed to be reviewed.

Similarly, the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative NEITI said that the urgency to enthrone transparency and accountability in the oil and gas sector cannot be over-emphasised.

Executive Secretary of the agency Dr.Orji Ogbonnaya Orji said that transparency and accountability are key to the effective operation of the nation’s oil sector adding that a lot of revenues are lost to theft, contract splitting, and corruption by the players in the industry.

At the Summit the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited said that it had provided energy solutions to the generality of Nigeria citizens in fulfilling its mandate.

Chief Executive Officer CEO of the company Mr Mele Kyari said that oil theft, contact splitting, and tax evasion by oil sector players are the major clogs on the wheels of progress in the sector.

Earlier in a remark, the Speaker of the House HonFemi Gbajabiamila said that the oil and gas industry had provided millions of jobs, aided government administration, and national defense to the tune of hundreds of billions of Naira

He however lamented that the oil and gas sector is facing a lot of challenges due to activities of bad actors in the critical sector and there is a need for the adoption of the global trend in the sector to guide all the actions of players

Chairman of the House Committee Hon. Shehu Garba said that the summit is organised by the House with a view to creating a platform where there’ll be stakeholders brainstorming on the provisions of the legal and regulatory framework in the oil and gas sector.

He added that it is difficult to realize our nation’s potential in the oil and gas industry if there is a lack of transparency and accountability by all the role players such as individuals, oil firms, and assets