Oil and gas firms remitted $6.7bn and ₦1.5tn in four years - RMAFC tells senate

gas companies operating in Nigeria remitted a total of $6.755 billion and ₦1.529 trillion to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) between 2021 and 2025 as statutory contributions.

The disclosure was made during an ongoing investigative hearing by the Senate Public Accounts Committee on the audit reports of the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) covering the 2021–2023 period.

Although the hearing focused on the NEITI audit reports, the NDDC presented an updated report showing contributions from oil and gas companies up to 2025. The remittances represent the statutory three per cent contribution required from oil and gas companies to fund development projects and environmental interventions in the Niger Delta.

The NDDC Managing Director, Samuel Ogbuku, was represented at the hearing by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, Ifedayo Abegunde, who led the commission’s delegation. Presenting the report, the NDDC said oil and gas companies still owed the commission $290 million and ₦163 billion in outstanding statutory contributions for the period under review, despite the billions already remitted.

The Senate Public Accounts Committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, is investigating audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation concerning the operations of the extractive industries between 2021 and 2023.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Mohammed Shehu, disclosed that Nigeria spent ₦1.16 trillion on fuel subsidy in 2021, while another ₦1.20 trillion was deducted from the Federation’s crude oil sales proceeds during the same period.

Shehu said fuel subsidy payments represented a significant drain on public finances. Other deductions from crude oil revenue included ₦16.20 billion for crude and petroleum product losses, ₦22.05 billion for pipeline repairs, and ₦6.75 billion for strategic stock holding. He also raised concerns about the calculation of the 13 per cent derivation fund, arguing that the current method undermines the constitutional objective of the policy.