Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has announced plans to undertake a comprehensive study to determine Nigeria’s daily consumption of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly referred to as petrol.
Speaking on Monday while defending the Agency’s 2025 budget before the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Ogbonnaya said NEITI had proposed a budget of ₦195.5 million for the study. He emphasised that Nigeria currently lacks accurate data on its petrol consumption, necessitating a detailed study to provide reliable statistics.
However, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, Chairman of the Committee, interrupted Ogbonnaya, arguing that” the country is generally aware of its PMS consumption, but what is missing is empirical data”. He urged NEITI to address this gap with its proposed study.
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Petrol consumption in Nigeria has been a contentious issue, particularly following the removal of subsidies. Before subsidies were scrapped, official figures placed daily petrol consumption at approximately 66 million litres.
Ado-Doguwa further questioned some of the Agency’s proposed expenditure such as the allocation of ₦128.7 million for “welfare packages” for stakeholders and members of the National Assembly. He criticised the wording of the description, insisting that “lawmakers do not receive welfare from NEITI”, and advised the Agency to rephrase the item.
The Committee also raised concerns over the proposed allocation of ₦32.5 million for meals and refreshments in 2025, an increase from ₦23.7 million in 2024. Members queried the necessity of such a substantial amount for refreshments.
The Chairman stated that the budget would be reviewed and adjusted where necessary, either increasing or reducing allocations as deemed appropriate.
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