The Nigerian Extractives Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has announced its intention to conduct a study to determine the accurate fuel consumption data in the country.
Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, executive secretary, NEITI, said this during the Stakeholders Validation Workshop on the 2022 Annual Progress Report (APR) held at NEITI House in Abuja.
Orji emphasised that the current fuel consumption figures in Nigeria are incorrect, and it has become necessary to obtain accurate data, especially as fuel subsidy has been eliminated.
He added that NEITI recognizes the necessity of having precise figures to inform policy decisions and ensure transparency in the fuel sector.
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“NEITI is commissioning a study on actual PMS consumption, we have every reason to believe that the figure may be less than what we’re projecting; Subsidy removal has removed the incentives for ballooning the consumption figures, which lack empirical logic and reason, It’ll also remove the veil responsible for opacity and budgeting based on estimates and that’s why subsidy removal is a very fundamental policy shift,” he said.
Orji who described the removal of subsidy as a bold step and lauded it, urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu not to reverse it.
“We join forces with CSOs and the media to say that the money saved from subsidy should be used to build roads, infrastructure, electricity, security, healthcare jobs, and general well-being among others so that Nigerians will know the difference between subsidy regime and when it was rested,” he said.
He added that subsidy has posed a lot of impediments around transparency and accountability in the management of revenues in the oil and gas industry over the years hence concentration should be on short-term steps that will ease the pain of Nigerians.
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