Senate Committee Issues Ultimatum to Seplat, Three Other Oil Firms Over NEITI Queries

The Senate Public Accounts Committee, led by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, has given a 48-hour ultimatum to Seplat Energy and three other oil companies to appear before it. The companies, which include Network E&P Nigeria Limited, All Grace Energy Limited, and Aradel Energy Limited, have been summoned to respond to queries contained in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. The committee's decision was made after it expressed dissatisfaction with the companies' failure to honour previous invitations. Senator Abdul Ningi described a letter from Network E&P Nigeria Limited as 'disturbing and provocative' after the company claimed it was only accountable to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. Ningi argued that the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to summon individuals and companies to provide explanations on matters under investigation, citing Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution. The committee has warned that failure to appear within the stipulated period may result in the invocation of legislative powers against the companies. Meanwhile, Dubri Oil Company Limited appeared before the committee to address a query regarding a $3.025m royalty and gas flare debt attributed to it in the NEITI report. The company's representative, Soyode Clement, disputed the claim, stating that the issue arose from a reconciliation problem between the company and the NUPRC, which has since been resolved. The committee is currently examining documents presented by Dubri Oil to determine whether to clear the company of the liability. The Senate's action is part of its ongoing efforts to scrutinize audit queries in the oil and gas sector, amid concerns over revenue leakages and the failure of companies to account for payments due to the government.