President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday pledged that government would re-examine the law setting up Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) in order to strengthen the agency.

The president made the pledge when he received members of the board and management of NEITI, led by the Chairman, Ledum Mitee, at the State House, Abuja.

Jonathan gave the assurance that inadequate funding and gaps between NEITI and certain major government bodies would be addressed soon.

He said the setting up of the Inter-Ministerial Task Team (IMTT) would also see to the proper integration of NEITI into the economic agenda of government.

The president commended the performance of NEITI since 2003, the bringing of international honour to the country.

Nigeria was recently adjudged the best Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) implementing country in the world and given an award at the global EITI conference in Sydney, Australia.

The president also expressed delight at the detection of some potential revenue-losing sectors of the economy by NEITI and its recommendations on how to tackle oil theft.

“NEITI is not just a watchdog organisation but one playing a critical role in the economy. Other countries will soon want to learn from the exemplary performance of NEITI,’’ he added.

Earlier, Mitee called on the president to address the ugly trend of oil theft.

“NEITI is concerned about the ugly trend in our oil and gas sector in view of it huge negative economic implications and massive revenue losses.

“The absence of reliable baseline information and data on the actual quantity of crude either lost through theft, bunkering or pipeline vandalism remain a major challenge.

“NEITI calls for urgent Presidential intervention in the issue of proper metering regime which has always been a recurring recommendation of our audits,’’ he said.

Mitee said the Federal Government lost about 9.8 billion dollars (about N1.5 trillion) to extractive industries in six years.

He said the revenue loss was from under-assessments and under-payment of taxes, rents, process manipulation and poor interpretation of agreements between government and extractive companies.

Mitee disclosed that about two billion dollars had been recovered from the revenue loss through collaboration with relevant agencies working under the aegis of the inter-Ministerial Task Team.

“Our reports indicate that some 9.8 billion dollars could be recovered from companies into the federation account.

“There is the need to set up inter-ministerial task team to drive that process.

“The Federal Inland Revenue Service has been able to recover about two billion dollars,’’ he said.

The chairman solicited the president’s intervention in the slash of the agency’s budgetary allocation by 50 per cent.

According to him, the dwindling revenue accruing to NEITI was crippling the activities of the agency.

“NEITI’s budgetary provisions have continued to dwindle whilst its activities remain on steady expansion.

“The situation has worsened to the extent that it threatens the agency’s continued performance of its core function.

“By the current funding profile, it will be impossible for NEITI to even support some of its statutory audits for the current year if nothing is done to ameliorate the situation,” he said.

Mitee commended Jonathan’s Administration for the commitment to massive reform in the oil and gas sector.