The Senate has given four oil and gas companies 48 hours to appear before its Public Accounts Committee or risk the full weight of its legislative powers.

The affected companies are Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria, All Grace Energy and Aradel Energy. They were summoned over audit queries contained in reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) covering 2021, 2022 and 2023.

The ultimatum followed the companies’ failure to appear before the committee at an investigative hearing held on Tuesday.

The committee said the firms must honour the fresh summons within the stipulated period, warning that failure to do so would trigger further legislative action.

The hearing is part of the Senate’s ongoing efforts to examine issues raised in NEITI’s reports and seek explanations from companies operating in Nigeria’s extractive sector.

The committee’s decision signals a tougher stance on compliance as lawmakers intensify scrutiny of the country’s oil and gas industry and the management of revenues generated from the sector.