By Adewale Sanyaolu
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI), Mr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, has disclosed that the agency has identified outstanding remittances of N1.5 trillion owed the federation by some private companies and government agencies.
He also revealed that NEITI has unmasked the true owners of over 4,800 extractive assets and currently helping the government combat corruption and illicit financial flows.
Orji stated these in his address at the National Association of Energy Correspondents (NAEC) Energy Conference 2025 with the theme “Nigeria’s Energy Future: Exploring Opportunities and Addressing Risks for Sustainable Growth” held in Lagos, yesterday.
The NEITI boss lamented that the unremitted funds could significantly support energy infrastructure, education and healthcare if recovered.
He added that the agency’s findings also exposed the devastating cost of poor accountability.
“In 2022 alone, Nigeria lost 13.5 million barrels of crude oil valued at $3.3 billion to theft and sabotage. That is revenue that could have financed a full year of the federal health budget or provided energy access to millions of households.
These losses are not just economic, they represent broken trust, institutional weaknesses, and missed opportunities for national progress. This is precisely why transparency and accountability are not optional. They are existential,”.
He argued that Nigeria’s energy future will not be defined by the size of our reserves or production capacity, but by how transparently and prudently we manage our natural resource wealth, the revenues, data, contracts, and decisions that shape our national destiny.
According to him, the era of secrecy in resource governance is over, saying the global energy transition towards cleaner fuels, gas optimisation, and renewable energy requires openness, responsibility, and innovation at every stage of the value chain.
“Data builds trust, and trust drives investment.”
He explained that transparency is not a bureaucratic exercise, it is an economic imperative because it attracts capital, technology, and partnerships.
Our latest NEITI industry reports make this truth evident.
He further disclosed that NEITI’s 2021–2022 Oil and Gas Industry Reports revealed that Nigeria earned $23.04 billion in 2021 and $23.05 billion in 2022 from the sector.
However, he regretted that the findings also exposed the devastating cost of poor accountability.
“These are revenues that could have financed a full year of the federal health budget or provided energy access to millions of households.
This is precisely why transparency and accountability are not optional. They are existential. He pointed out that NEITI, over the past decade, has evolved from an auditing agency to a governance reform institution.
“We have institutionalised regular audits of oil, gas, and solid minerals sectors, tracking production, payments, and remediation.”
He called for the support of the media, especially NAEC and to be vigilant and ensure that the facts in NEITI’s reports are not buried in archives but converted into public awareness, civic action, and policy reform.
“As a strategic partner, NAEC’s role is indispensable. When journalists report with depth, integrity, and factual accuracy, they become the bridge between data and democracy.
As Nigeria positions gas as its transition fuel and renewable energy as its future, governance must keep pace with innovation. Our energy future must rest on verifiable data, open contracts, measurable emissions, and accountable institutions,”
He pointed out that NEITI envisions a sector where every dollar is traceable, every contract is public, every decision is transparent, and every Nigerian citizen can see how natural resources translate into national prosperity.
He assured that NEITI is committed to ensuring that every barrel produced, every cubic foot of gas commercialised and every kobo earned contributes to national development and in full public view.
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