01 July 2014, Abuja – The Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, NEITI, has announced that the Federal Government earned a total of N26.9 billion from solid minerals in 2011.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, who disclosed this at the public presentation of 2011 Solid Minerals Industry Audit Report in Abuja, said, out of this amount, a total sum of N26.8 billion represents funds paid by companies.
The said the report also shows that the difference between what the companies paid in taxes, levies, and royalty, and what government actually received into its coffers was N33.1 million.
The key findings of the reports according to her, “showed that Nigeria exported a total of 7,115,088.50 metric tonnes of solid minerals valued at N11.9 billion during the period under review.” However, it noted that a review of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, records on exported minerals showed that there were discrepancies in the value of exported minerals as well as the associated companies.
From the report, aggregated revenue received by Federal Government increased significantly in 2011, as compared to previous years. This was attributed to the awareness created from the last audit cycle by NEITI, and the increasing attention paid by government to the solid minerals industry.
– Vanguard
