House of Representatives, on Tuesday, unveiled plans to flag off an investigation into the outstanding indebtedness of oil companies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), with the liabilities rising to N432,072,557,867.17.
The investigation initiated by House Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Rep. Bamidele Salam, follows findings contained in the Auditor-General’s annual audit reports on the indebtedness arising from various regulatory and petroleum-related obligations.
According to the Auditor-General’s 2023 Annual Audit Report, the NNPCL and oil companies operating under the umbrella of 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 N392,725,541,038.24.
The audit report indicated that the debt comprised obligations arising from Balancing Allowance, National Transport Average, 1% Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, as well as legacy debts associated with imports, coastal and credit transactions.
A breakdown of the 2023 statistics showed that NNPCL owed N162,456,750,832.47, while the oil companies owed N230,268,790,205.77, bringing the combined indebtedness to N392,725,541,038.24.
However, the Auditor-General’s 2024 report indicated that the outstanding debt had increased to N432,072,557,867.17, excluding the indebtedness of NNPCL.
Further review of submissions made by the NMDPRA to the Public Accounts Committee showed that 146 oil companies operating under DAPPMAN, MEMAN and MOMAN owed the Authority N327,525,987,255.67 as at 2025.
The Committee also noted that the indebtedness covers the period 2017 to 2023 and has largely remained unpaid as of the date of the review.
Rep. Salam assured that the Committee would ensure that all relevant entities account for their obligations and provide the necessary records to enable Parliament to establish the circumstances surrounding the outstanding debts.
Rep. Salam stressed that companies and institutions summoned by the Committee must accord the National Assembly the respect it deserves by responding appropriately to parliamentary invitations.
He said: ‘Any company invited by this Committee must respect the people’s Parliament of the Federal Republic of Nigeria by honouring the summons with appropriate representation and all relevant documents.
‘We are not here to witch-hunt anybody; our responsibility is to establish the facts, protect public revenue and ensure that every naira due to government is properly accounted for.’
Rep. Salam said the Committee would scrutinise the relevant records, including the basis of the outstanding liabilities, the period covered, payments made, amounts still outstanding and the actions taken by the regulatory authorities to recover the debts.
He added that the Committee’s investigation was aimed at strengthening accountability in the management of public revenue and ensuring that statutory obligations owed to government agencies were not allowed to accumulate without appropriate recovery measures.
To this end, he reaffirmed the Committee’s commitment to exercising its constitutional oversight mandate by ensuring that public revenue is properly accounted for and that government agencies take appropriate steps to recover outstanding liabilities.