Reps Hunt NNPCL, 146 Big Marketers as Lawmakers Launch Deep Probe into N432bn Unremitted Oil Revenue

The House of Representatives has launched a wide-ranging probe into the non-remittance of over ₦432 billion in statutory oil revenues, summoning the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and more than a hundred major oil marketing firms to account for years of accumulated debts owed to regulatory authorities.

The inquiry, spearheaded by the House Public Accounts Committee (PAC), follows damning revelations detailed in statutory compliance reviews conducted by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation. According to audit findings, the billions in unremitted liabilities represent statutory charges, mandatory industry funds, and regulatory levies that were accrued between 2017 and 2023 but largely withheld from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

Financial documents submitted to parliament reveal that the mounting debts originated from defaults on the National Transport Average (NTA), the Balancing Allowance, and the statutory 1 percent contribution toward the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF)—a key vehicle created to modernize domestic gas delivery networks. The debt portfolio is further weighed down by legacy obligations relating to offshore fuel importation, coastal marine charters, and extended credit windows that were never settled.

While the Auditor-General’s 2023 review had recorded a combined default of ₦392.73 billion—with NNPCL accounting for ₦162.46 billion and downstream commercial marketers carrying ₦230.27 billion—the subsequent 2024 audit report escalated the figure, establishing that private oil firms alone had amassed an unpaid exposure of ₦432.07 billion, excluding NNPCL’s separate liabilities.

Further regulatory submissions placed before the committee revealed the sweeping scale of non-compliance across the downstream logistics chain. Records submitted by the NMDPRA show that at least 146 private petroleum distribution firms belonging to major trade blocs—including the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria (DAPPMAN), the Major Energies Marketers Association of Nigeria (MEMAN), and the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN)—had accumulated a backlog of ₦327.53 billion in overdue statutory payments.

Addressing the commencement of the investigative hearings, PAC Chairman Rep. Bamidele Salam stressed that the inquiry is anchored strictly on parliament’s constitutional oversight powers to safeguard public funds. He dispelled notions that the committee was singling out specific corporate entities, clarifying that the objective is to reconstruct paper trails, establish what portion of the liabilities has been collected, and recover every outstanding naira trapped in corporate vaults.

The committee reaffirmed that the affected oil firms and state-owned entities must produce all relevant ledgers, bank transactions, and regulatory receipts to justify how the debts accumulated and explain why the sums remained unpaid for years. With the Federal Government under intense fiscal pressure to fund critical infrastructure and narrow budget deficits, lawmakers have warned that the National Assembly will exhaust all legislative mechanisms to ensure unremitted public revenues are recovered into the federation account.