The FG's $13 trillion subsidy payment is equal to the budget of four ministries - NEITI

In six years, the federal government spent $13 trillion on petroleum subsidy payments, an amount equal to the budget of four Nigerian ministries. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), disclosed this during a policy dialogue on the Use of Beneficial Ownership Data in the Fight Against Corruption in Nigeria's Crude Swap Deals held in Abuja on Thursday, April 13, 2023. According to Orji, the fund used for subsidies during the period was equal to the country's entire budget for the Health, Agriculture, Education, and Defense ministries over a five-year period. The NEITI CEO argued for the need to complete the deregulation of the petroleum sector, which would put an end to the call for subsidy removal. Orji went on to say that Nigeria lost N16.25 trillion in crude oil theft between 2009 and 2020, a period of 12 years. He also stated that between 2009 and 2018, the country lost 4.2 billion litres of petroleum products from refineries worth $1.84 billion. "According to the NEITI policy brief on crude oil theft and data drawn from NEITI industry reports of the oil and gas sector, Nigeria lost 619.7 million barrels of crude oil valued at $46.16 billion or N16.25 trillion between 2009 and 2020," he said. Orji also stated that the Presidential Committee on Crude Oil Theft has been briefed on the findings and recommendations for combating crude oil theft, as well as a report on the subject that has been submitted to the President.