Nigeria spent about N1.16 trillion on petrol subsidy in 2021, the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) has disclosed.

RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Shehu, revealed the figure on Thursday while appearing before the Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) in Abuja.

The committee is examining the findings contained in the 2021–2023 audit reports on Nigeria’s oil and gas sector prepared by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

According to Shehu, an additional N1.20 trillion was taken from crude oil sales proceeds belonging to the federation during the period.

He explained that other deductions from oil revenues included N16.20 billion for crude and petroleum product losses, N22.05 billion for pipeline repairs and N6.75 billion for strategic stock holding.

The RMAFC chairman also raised concerns over the method used to calculate the 13 per cent derivation revenue allocated to oil-producing states.

He argued that calculating the derivation allocation after deducting certain costs from total revenue collections does not reflect the objective of the derivation principle.

Meanwhile, the Senate committee has postponed the appearance of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to August 12 to enable members to study its submission.

The committee chairman, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, also criticised the absence of the Auditor-General of the Federation from the investigative hearing.

Dankwambo directed the Auditor-General to appear before the committee at its next sitting on Tuesday, warning that failure to do so could result in the National Assembly invoking its powers to compel his attendance.