The House of Representatives’ Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has set up two technical sub-committees to investigate the indebtedness of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and other oil and gas operators to the Federation Account, as well as to review the remittance records of the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). This move follows issues highlighted in the Auditor-General’s 2021 report, which raised concerns over uncollected revenues and unjustified deductions within the oil and gas sector.

The PAC, chaired by Rep. Bamidele Salam, established the sub-committees on Monday, assigning Deputy Chairman Hon. Jeremiah Umaru and Hon. Olusola Fatoba as heads. The investigation comes in response to three key queries from the Auditor-General’s report, including outstanding royalties from NNPC-COMF MCA/PSC contracts totaling $253.9 million, as well as deductions from joint venture royalties by NNPC amounting to approximately $204.8 billion before remittance to DPR (now NUPRC).

In response, NUPRC Chief Executive Engr. Gbenga Komolafe informed the committee that, as of December 31, 2021, $224.3 million of the outstanding royalties from NNPC had been paid, leaving a balance of $29.6 million yet to be collected.

Committee members called on NUPRC to provide concrete proof that the outstanding funds identified by the Auditor-General have been recovered. The PAC has requested the sub-committees to deliver a report on the state of NNPC’s and other oil operators’ debts within two weeks.

Chairman Rep. Bamidele Salam assured stakeholders that the PAC is committed to fair and transparent proceedings, emphasizing that the committee would carefully evaluate all Auditor-General queries and other matters before it without pre-judgment, allowing ample opportunity for defense through open hearings.