The House of Representatives has opened an investigation into NMDPRA debts estimated at N432.07 billion, involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and oil companies.
The probe is being conducted by the House Public Accounts Committee, PAC, following findings contained in the Auditor-General’s annual reports on unpaid regulatory and petroleum-related obligations.
The Auditor-General’s 2023 Annual Audit Report put the total outstanding liabilities owed to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, at N392.73 billion.
According to the report, NNPCL accounted for N162.46 billion of the amount, while oil companies operating under DAPPMAN, MOMAN and MEMAN owed N230.27 billion.
The liabilities were linked to several obligations, including Balancing Allowance, National Transport Average and the one per cent Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund.
The report also identified outstanding legacy debts associated with imports, coastal transactions and credit transactions.
However, the Auditor-General’s 2024 report placed the outstanding indebtedness at N432.07 billion, with NNPCL’s liability excluded from the figure.
Additional information submitted by NMDPRA to the committee showed that 146 oil companies under the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPPMAN; Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria, MEMAN; and Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, owed the regulator N327.53 billion as of 2025.
The committee noted that the obligations covered transactions dating from 2017 to 2023 and had largely remained unsettled when the audit review was conducted.
Chairman of the committee, Rep. Bamidele Salam, said the investigation would establish how the debts accumulated and determine the obligations of each entity involved.
He said the panel would examine relevant records, including the basis for the liabilities, periods covered, payments made, outstanding balances and recovery measures undertaken by the regulatory authorities. Salam also warned organisations summoned before the committee against ignoring parliamentary invitations.
He said the committee was not conducting a witch-hunt but was focused on establishing the facts, safeguarding public revenue and ensuring that money owed to government was properly accounted for. The lawmaker urged summoned companies to appear with appropriate representatives and relevant documents to facilitate the investigation.
The PAC said the inquiry formed part of its constitutional oversight responsibility and would also examine measures required to prevent statutory debts owed to government agencies from accumulating without effective recovery.
The committee maintained that stronger accountability was necessary to ensure that public revenue due to government is identified, recovered and properly accounted for.
