Nigeria’s oil sector is bracing for a fresh round of legislative scrutiny after the Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) ran out of patience with four heavyweight players in the industry.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, delivered an unambiguous message on Tuesday: Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Limited, All Grace Energy Limited and Aradel Energy Limited have 48 hours to appear before it and respond to queries contained in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, or face the consequences.
What triggered Tuesday’s rebuke wasn’t a single missed appointment but what lawmakers characterized as a pattern of evasion. The companies were directed to appear before the committee on Thursday, with the chairman making clear this wasn’t a first attempt at engagement.
The sharpest words were reserved for Network E&P. The ultimatum followed a motion by Senator Abdul Ningi, who faulted the company for writing to the committee that it was accountable to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission rather than responding to the Senate’s invitation.
Ningi did not mince words, describing the letter as disturbing and provocative, and pushed back firmly on the regulatory-jurisdiction argument, insisting that the National Assembly had the constitutional authority to summon individuals, companies and government agencies regardless of which agency ordinarily oversees them.
The rebuke apparently landed with force. Senator Shehu Kaka Lawan of Borno Central backed Ningi, calling for the invocation of constitutional powers against the management of the affected companies, and the committee chairman’s ultimatum to Network E&P carried a pointed warning: “Having failed to honour the invitation of this committee two consecutive times, the Managing Director of Network E&P Nigeria Limited should appear before us unfailingly on Thursday this week or risk full invocation of legislative powers against him.”
Similar ultimatums followed for the managing directors of All Grace Energy, Aradel Energy and Seplat Energy after the committee noted their absence as well.
Not every firm summoned stayed away. Dubri Oil Company Limited sent a representative — and used the opportunity to fight the numbers rather than dodge them. NEITI had alleged, based on submissions by NUPRC in 2025, that Dubri Oil owed $2.378 million for gas flaring and $646,605.55 for oil production activities, totalling roughly $3.025 million.
Dubri Oil’s representative, Soyode Olusoji Clement, disputed the figure outright. He argued the report had been compiled during a period when the company had an unresolved reconciliation issue with NUPRC, and told the committee that reconciliation had since been completed with no outstanding debt remaining.
He submitted supporting documentation and asked lawmakers to review it thoroughly before reaching any conclusion, and the committee agreed to examine the paperwork as part of its ongoing investigation.
The confrontation underscores a broader tension between Nigeria’s legislature and its extractive-sector operators over accountability for revenues owed to the state.
NEITI’s audit reports spanning three fiscal years appear to have surfaced discrepancies serious enough to warrant summons, and the committee’s readiness to threaten “full invocation of legislative powers” signals it isn’t inclined to let the matter quietly lapse.
For Seplat, Aradel, Network E&P and All Grace Energy, Thursday now looms as a hard deadline. Failure to appear a second time could escalate matters well beyond a stern letter potentially inviting sanctions the National Assembly is constitutionally empowered to impose on both the companies and their executives directly.
The committee’s next session will likely determine whether this becomes a routine compliance formality or the opening chapter of a more protracted standoff between Nigeria’s oil industry and its lawmakers.
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has given Seplat Energy, Network E&P, All Grace Energy, and Aradel Energy 48 hours to appear and answer NEITI audit queries from 2021–2023, after they skipped Tuesday’s hearing with Network E&P drawing particular ire for claiming it only answers to NUPRC, not the Senate.
Failure to show up on Thursday risks the “full invocation of legislative powers” against the companies and their executives. The one firm that did appear, Dubri Oil, disputed its $3.025 million liability and says the debt has since been reconciled to zero.
