Twenty four oil companies have paid more than N115bn and $84m in outstanding statutory obligations to the Niger Delta Development Commission following an investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC disclosed the recovery on Wednesday when its officials appeared before the Senate Public Accounts Committee during a hearing on findings from the 2021 to 2023 NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports.
The committee, led by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, is examining unpaid revenues and other financial discrepancies identified in the reports.
According to an EFCC representative, Francis Usani, the commission examined the records of 43 oil companies after NEITI raised concerns about their obligations. The investigation showed that 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta had unpaid three per cent levies due to the NDDC.
Usani said the 24 firms were initially linked to outstanding payments of N76.88bn and $81.08m, while the other 19 companies investigated were cleared.
“At the commencement of investigation, EFCC invited 43 oil companies, out of which 24 operating within the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities in the sums of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655.00, while the remaining 19 other oil companies were given a clean bill of health,” Usani told the committee.
He explained that the EFCC’s intervention encouraged some of the companies to settle their debts directly with the NDDC.
So far, N6.71bn and $16.99m have been paid directly to the commission by the affected firms.
The EFCC also transferred N73.37bn and $67.07m from the recovered money to the NDDC, with N3.51bn and $14.01m still held in its recovery account.
“Out of the sums so far recovered by the commission on behalf of NDDC, total sums of N73.37bn and $67.07m have been released to NDDC, leaving the balance of N3.51bn and $14.01m in EFCC’s recovery account,” he said.
Usani said the commission concentrated on the three per cent NDDC levy highlighted in the NEITI report but remained aware that companies could have other unpaid obligations to the Federal Government.
“The EFCC focused on one primary pillar identified in the NEITI report, i.e., unpaid three per cent statutory levies due to NDDC, but we did not lose sight of the fact that there could be other unpaid statutory obligations and taxes due to the Federal Government,” Usani said.
Senate Moves Against Oil Chiefs
The Senate committee also stepped up its investigation by directing the managing directors of several oil companies to appear personally before it.
The panel rejected a request from TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited to send a representative instead of its managing director and ordered the company’s chief executive to appear next week.
Managing directors of South Atlantic Petroleum Limited, Oando Oil Limited, Famfa Oil Limited and Green Energy International Limited were also given a final opportunity to appear before the committee.
The lawmakers said they were dissatisfied with some of the responses and representations provided by companies over financial queries contained in the NEITI reports.
The Senate investigation covers the 2021, 2022 and 2023 NEITI audits and is aimed at determining the extent of unpaid statutory obligations in the oil and gas sector.
The committee said it would continue the probe and could invite more companies and government agencies as it works to establish whether additional revenues remain outstanding.
