The Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) has given four oil companies 48 hours to appear before it and respond to queries arising from the 2021, 2022 and 2023 audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
The affected companies are Seplat Energy Plc, Network E&P Nigeria Limited, All Grace Energy Limited and Aradel Energy Limited.
The committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, warned that failure to honour the fresh summons would prompt the National Assembly to fully deploy its constitutional powers.
The ultimatum followed growing frustration among lawmakers over repeated absences by some of the companies invited to explain financial issues identified in the NEITI reports.
Network E&P Nigeria Limited came under particular scrutiny after failing to appear before the committee on two previous occasions.
Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) called for sanctions against the company, describing a letter it sent to the committee as “disturbing and provocative.”
Ningi objected to the company’s position that its primary regulatory relationship was with the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), rather than the Senate committee.
He maintained that the National Assembly had constitutional authority to summon companies, individuals and government institutions where their activities were relevant to an investigation.
“The senate and, by extension, the National Assembly, is the custodian of Nigeria’s laws and has the power to invite anybody or agency for explanations on issues raised against them,” Ningi said.
Senator Shehu Kaka Lawan (APC, Borno Central) backed the call for sanctions, urging the committee to exercise its constitutional powers against companies that repeatedly ignored its invitations.
Responding to the lawmakers, Dankwambo ordered the Managing Director of Network E&P Nigeria Limited to appear before the committee on Thursday without fail.
“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,” Dankwambo warned.
Three More Companies Summoned
The committee subsequently issued similar 48-hour ultimatums to the managements of All Grace Energy Limited, Aradel Energy Limited and Seplat Energy, after representatives of the companies failed to appear during Tuesday’s proceedings.
The summons formed part of the Senate’s continuing examination of financial obligations, revenue remittances and other discrepancies identified in NEITI’s audits of Nigeria’s extractive industries.
While four companies were ordered to appear, Dubri Oil Company Limited appeared before the committee and challenged a liability of about $3.025 million attributed to it in the NEITI report.
According to the report, based on information supplied by NUPRC in 2025, the alleged outstanding obligation comprised approximately $2.378 million in gas-flaring liabilities and $646,605.55 in oil production royalties.
Representing Dubri Oil, Soyode Clement rejected the figures, telling lawmakers that the liability resulted from a reconciliation dispute between the company and NUPRC.
He said the matter had since been resolved and that Dubri Oil no longer had any outstanding debt relating to the figures.
Clement submitted documents to the committee to support the company’s position.
The lawmakers said they would examine the documents before deciding whether Dubri Oil should receive a clean bill of health on the disputed liabilities.
The latest proceedings underscore the Senate’s continuing scrutiny of Nigeria’s oil and gas revenues and the financial obligations of companies operating in the sector.
With the fresh summons, the committee has signalled that repeated failure by companies to respond to legislative inquiries could attract stronger constitutional action.
