• Calls for prosecution of errant contractors
• HEDA demands transparency in Senate’s oil companies probe

The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) has commended the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for recovering more than N115 billion and $84 million in outstanding statutory levies owed the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by oil companies.

However, the rights group urged the anti-graft agency to go beyond revenue recovery and investigate and prosecute contractors who collected billions of naira for NDDC projects but failed to execute or abandoned them.

In a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Nnadozie Onwubiko, HURIWA said the recovery was an important step towards preventing funds meant for the development of the Niger Delta from being lost through corporate non-compliance, administrative negligence or deliberate evasion.

The group also commended the Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, for investigating the 2021–2023 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports, demanding explanations from companies with unresolved financial obligations.

According to the EFCC’s presentation before the committee, the commission investigated 43 oil companies and established outstanding liabilities against 24, while 19 were cleared.

The 24 companies were initially found to owe N76.88 billion and $81.08 million. Subsequently, some companies paid N6.71 billion and $16.99 million directly to the NDDC, while the EFCC released N73.37 billion and $67.07 million in recovered funds to the commission.

Onwubiko said the recoveries should prompt a broader investigation into how such huge statutory obligations remained unpaid for years, stressing that every naira and dollar recovered carries a responsibility to the people of the Niger Delta.

MEANWHILE, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) has called for full transparency and public accountability in the Senate’s ongoing investigation into audit queries involving Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria, All Grace Energy and Aradel Energy.

HEDA’s Chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, maintained that the call follows the decision of the Senate Public Accounts Committee to issue a 48-hour ultimatum to the companies to appear before the committee after they failed to attend an investigative hearing on audit queries contained in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 reports of the NEITI.

According to Suraju, the Senate’s investigation underscores the importance of effective oversight and transparent management of Nigeria’s natural resources, particularly in the extractive sector, where unresolved financial obligations can have significant implications for public revenue.

“These companies should be allowed to respond fully to the audit queries and present relevant documentation, while insisting that any established financial obligations to the government must be recovered and accounted for transparently.

Similarly, HEDA also urged the Senate Public Accounts Committee to conduct the investigation transparently and publish its findings and recommendations, including details of any outstanding liabilities established against the affected companies.

The group noted that the appearance of Dubri Oil Company before the committee and its submission of documents disputing the reported $3.25 million royalty and gas-flare debt demonstrates the importance of allowing all parties to present evidence and reconcile disputed figures before conclusions are reached.