NEITI report: Senate gives Seplat, three others 48-hour ultimatum

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Senate

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— Dubri Oil denies $3.025m royalty, gas flare debts

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By Henry Umoru

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ABUJA — The Senate has given Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Limited and two other oil companies 48 hours to appear before it and respond to issues arising from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports for 2021, 2022 and 2023.

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The other companies summoned by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe North), are All Grace Energy Limited and Aradel Energy Limited.

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The ultimatum followed a resolution adopted by the committee on Tuesday after some members expressed displeasure over the failure of the affected companies to honour previous invitations.

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The committee issued the ultimatum during its sitting at Senate Hearing Room 022, Abuja.

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Network E&P Nigeria Limited had failed to appear before the committee on two consecutive occasions.

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Former Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central), called for the invocation of the Senate’s constitutional powers after the company told the committee in a letter that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) was the regulatory body it reported to.

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Ningi described the position as disturbing, stressing that the National Assembly had the constitutional authority to summon any individual, company or agency to explain issues arising from its oversight activities.

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According to him, Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution empower the National Assembly to conduct investigations and summon persons or organisations where necessary.

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He said: “The Senate and, by extension, the National Assembly, is the custodian of Nigeria’s laws and has the power to invite anybody or agency for explanations on issues raised against them.”

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Supporting the call, Senator Shehu Kaka Lawan, SAN (APC, Borno Central), urged the committee to invoke its constitutional powers against the companies that had failed to honour its invitations.

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Consequently, the committee chairman directed the Managing Director of Network E&P Nigeria Limited to appear before it on Thursday or face the full weight of the Senate’s legislative powers.

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“Having failed to honour the invitation of this committee on two consecutive occasions, the Managing Director of Network E&P Nigeria Limited should appear before us unfailingly on Thursday this week or risk full invocation of legislative powers against him,” Dankwambo said.

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The committee also directed the Managing Directors of All Grace Energy Limited, Aradel Energy Limited and Seplat Energy to appear before it within the 48-hour deadline.

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Dubri Oil disputes $3.025m debt

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Meanwhile, Dubri Oil Company Limited, which appeared before the committee, disputed a $3.025 million royalty and gas flare debt attributed to it in the NEITI audit report.

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According to the report, based on information submitted by NUPRC in 2025, Dubri Oil was indebted to the Federal Government to the tune of $3.025 million.

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The amount comprised $2.378 million for gas flaring and $646,605.55 for oil production royalties.

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However, a representative of Dubri Oil, Soyode Olusoji Clement, rejected the debt, explaining that the figures arose from a reconciliation issue between the company and NUPRC at the time the report was compiled.

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He said the reconciliation had since been concluded and that Dubri Oil no longer had any outstanding debt with NUPRC.

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Clement also submitted relevant documents to the committee in support of the company’s position.

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The committee said it would study the documents critically before determining whether the company should be cleared of the liabilities contained in the NEITI report.

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