EFCC Recovers N115bn, $84m in NDDC Levies From Oil Firms

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered more than N115bn and $84m in outstanding statutory levies owed the Niger Delta Development Commission by oil companies, the anti-graft agency told the Senate on Wednesday.

The disclosure was made before the Senate Public Accounts Committee during its ongoing investigation into issues raised in the 2021–2023 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports.

The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, is examining outstanding financial obligations and other discrepancies identified in the NEITI audits.

Representing the EFCC, Francis Usani said the commission investigated 43 oil companies following queries raised in the audit reports, with 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta found to have outstanding liabilities relating to the three per cent statutory levy payable to the NDDC.

He said the 24 companies were initially identified as owing N76.88bn and $81.08m, while 19 others were cleared following the investigation.

“At the commencement of the 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.

According to him, the EFCC’s intervention prompted some of the affected companies to settle their obligations directly with the NDDC.

He disclosed that the companies had paid N6.71bn and $16.99m directly to the commission.

Usani further said the EFCC had released N73.37bn and $67.07m of the recovered funds to the NDDC, while N3.51bn and $14.01m remained in the commission’s 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.

He explained that the EFCC’s investigation focused primarily on unpaid three per cent statutory levies due to the NDDC, as identified in the NEITI reports.

Usani, however, noted that the investigation did not rule out the existence of other outstanding statutory obligations and taxes payable 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,” he said.

The three per cent levy is part of the statutory funding framework of the NDDC, which is responsible for development interventions across Nigeria’s oil-producing Niger Delta region.

The Senate committee is examining whether non-remittance of statutory payments by oil companies contributed to revenue leakages and the financial shortfalls identified in the NEITI audit reports.

Senate summons oil company CEOs

Following the EFCC’s presentation, the committee moved to compel the chief executives of major oil companies to personally appear before it to respond to queries raised against their companies in the NEITI audit reports.

The panel rejected a request by TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited to send a representative in place of its management and directed the company’s managing director to appear before the committee next week.

The committee also issued a final invitation to the managing directors of South Atlantic Petroleum Limited, Oando Oil Limited, Famfa Oil Limited and Green Energy International Limited to appear personally before it.

The summons followed concerns over the adequacy of representations made by some companies in response to financial queries contained in the NEITI reports.

The committee said it was determined to establish whether the obligations identified in the audit reports had been settled and, where they remained outstanding, the reasons for the non-payment.

The ongoing investigation covers the 2021, 2022 and 2023 NEITI Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports, which examine production, payments, revenues and other financial transactions between oil companies and government institutions.

NEITI audits are designed to promote transparency and accountability in Nigeria’s extractive industries by identifying discrepancies, outstanding obligations and other issues requiring reconciliation.

The Senate panel has consequently invited companies named in the reports to provide explanations on unresolved queries.

The committee had earlier summoned several oil companies and warned that persistent failure to honour its invitations could result in the invocation of the constitutional powers of the National Assembly.

Dankwambo said the committee would continue its investigation until it obtained satisfactory explanations on the issues raised in the audit reports.

The probe is expected to focus increasingly on the personal appearance of company chief executives, particularly where previous submissions have failed to resolve outstanding queries.

Further recovery actions, summonses or enforcement recommendations could follow if the investigation establishes that companies failed to meet their statutory obligations.