The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, PAC, has commenced an investigation into an oil revenue debt of N432.07 billion owed to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and oil companies.
The investigation followed findings contained in the Auditor-General’s annual audit reports, which identified outstanding regulatory and petroleum-related obligations owed to the authority. The committee is expected to examine how the liabilities accumulated and the measures taken by relevant agencies to recover the funds.
According to the Auditor-General’s 2023 Annual Audit Report, NNPCL and oil companies operating under the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, and Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, MEMAN, were indebted to NMDPRA to the tune of N392.73 billion.
The report attributed the liabilities to several obligations, including Balancing Allowance, National Transport Average and the one per cent Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund. It also identified legacy debts associated with imports, coastal transactions and credit transactions.
A breakdown of the 2023 figure showed that NNPCL accounted for N162.46 billion, while the affected oil companies owed N230.27 billion. The combined liability therefore stood at N392.73 billion. However, the Auditor-General’s 2024 report put the outstanding indebtedness at N432.07 billion, excluding NNPCL’s liability.
Further submissions made by NMDPRA to the Public Accounts Committee showed that 146 oil companies operating under DAPPMAN, MEMAN and MOMAN owed the authority N327.53 billion as of 2025. The committee noted that the outstanding obligations covered the period between 2017 and 2023 and had largely remained unpaid at the time of the review.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam, said the panel would ensure that all entities involved accounted for their obligations and produced the records required for Parliament to establish the circumstances surrounding the outstanding liabilities.
Salam also warned companies and institutions summoned by the committee against disregarding parliamentary invitations. He said invited entities were expected to honour the summons with appropriate representation and all relevant documents.
He stressed that the investigation was not intended to witch-hunt any company or institution, but to establish the facts, protect public revenue and ensure that every naira due to government was properly accounted for.
The committee is expected to scrutinise records relating to the debts, including the basis of the liabilities, periods covered, payments already made, outstanding balances and steps taken by regulatory authorities to recover the funds.
Salam said the investigation would strengthen accountability in the management of public revenue and help prevent statutory obligations owed to government agencies from accumulating without effective recovery measures.
The PAC reaffirmed its commitment to exercising its constitutional oversight mandate and ensuring that public revenues are properly accounted for, while relevant government agencies take appropriate steps to recover outstanding liabilities.
