The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered N225 billion in statutory levies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by defaulting oil companies between 2021 and 2023.
The commission said the outstanding liabilities involved N76.883 billion and $81.076 million owed by 24 oil companies operating in the Niger Delta.
An EFCC representative, Francis Usani, disclosed this on Wednesday while appearing before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts in Abuja.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, is investigating queries arising from the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) 2021–2023 Oil and Gas Sector Audit Report.
Usani said the EFCC investigated 43 oil companies identified in the audit report, adding that 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding obligations to the NDDC.
He said the remaining 19 companies were cleared after the investigation established that they had no outstanding liabilities.
“At the commencement of the investigation, EFCC invited 43 oil companies, out of which 24 operating within the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities in the sums of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655.00, while the remaining 19 other oil companies were given a clean bill of health,” Usani stated.
He explained that the liabilities arose mainly from the three per cent statutory levy payable by oil companies to the NDDC for the development of the Niger Delta region.
According to him, following the investigation and pressure from the EFCC, some of the affected companies paid part of their outstanding obligations directly to the NDDC.
He said the companies paid N6.709 billion and $16.994 million directly to the commission.
Usani further disclosed that the EFCC recovered N73.373 billion and $67.070 million on behalf of the NDDC, adding that the funds had been released to the commission.
He said N3.510 billion and $14.005 million remained in the EFCC’s recovery account at the time of the Senate hearing.
The EFCC representative said the investigation focused primarily on unpaid three per cent statutory levies identified in the NEITI audit report.
He, however, noted that the investigation also considered the possibility that some of the affected oil companies might have outstanding statutory obligations and taxes payable to the Federal Government.
Meanwhile, the Senate committee rejected an attempt by TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited to respond to queries raised against the company in the NEITI audit report, citing its under-representation at the hearing.
The committee consequently directed the Managing Director of TotalEnergies to appear personally before it at a date to be fixed next week.
It also gave the managing directors of South Atlantic Petroleum Limited, Oando Oil Limited, Famfa Oil and Green Energy International Limited a final opportunity to appear physically before the committee to respond to queries concerning their companies.