The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has commenced an investigation into outstanding debts owed by oil companies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), with the liabilities rising to about ₦432 billion.
The probe follows findings contained in the Auditor-General’s annual audit reports on unpaid regulatory and petroleum-related obligations. According to the 2023 audit report, NNPCL and oil companies operating under DAPPMAN, MOMAN and MEMAN owed NMDPRA more than ₦392 billion.
The 2023 debt comprised obligations relating to Balancing Allowance, National Transport Average, the one per cent Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund, as well as legacy debts arising from imports, coastal and credit transactions. NNPCL accounted for more than ₦162 billion, while the oil companies owed about ₦230 billion.
The Auditor-General’s 2024 report showed that the outstanding debt had increased to ₦432 billion, excluding NNPCL’s indebtedness. Further submissions by NMDPRA indicated that 146 oil companies operating under DAPPMAN, MEMAN and MOMAN owed the Authority about ₦327 billion as of 2025, with some of the liabilities dating back to 2017.
Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Representative Bamidele Salam, said the committee would scrutinise relevant records to establish the basis of the debts, payments already made, outstanding balances and steps taken by the regulatory authority to recover the funds.
Salam also urged companies summoned by the committee to honour parliamentary invitations and provide the necessary documents, stressing that the investigation was not aimed at witch-hunting any organisation but at establishing the facts, protecting public revenue and ensuring that funds due to government are properly accounted for.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to exercising its constitutional oversight responsibilities, saying it would pursue measures to strengthen accountability and ensure that statutory obligations owed to government agencies do not continue to accumulate without effective recovery action.
