Senate Summons Oil Companies Over NEITI Audit Queries

On Tuesday, the Nigerian Senate's Public Accounts Committee, led by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwabo, issued a 48-hour ultimatum for Seplat Energy, Network E & P Nigeria Limited, All Grace Energy Limited, and Aradel Energy Limited to appear before it. This action follows concerns raised about the companies in the 2021, 2022, and 2023 audit reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

Senator Abdul Ningi expressed that Network E & P's claim of reporting solely to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) was provocative. Senator Shehu Kaka Lawan supported the call for constitutional powers to be invoked against the management of the affected companies, particularly the Managing Director of Network E & P, who failed to attend previous invitations.

Dubri Oil Company Limited, which did appear, contested a $3.025 million debt reported by NEITI, claiming the issue stemmed from prior reconciliation problems with NUPRC, which have since been resolved.