The Senate has launched an investigation into allegations that NEMBE Exploration and Production Company (NEPL) failed to remit $71.64 million and ₦30.74 billion in statutory contributions to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), ordering the company to appear before its committee within two weeks.
The Senate Committee on the NDDC issued the directive after considering a petition alleging that the outstanding remittances, covering the period from 2015 to 2024, had deprived the commission of funds needed for development projects and environmental remediation across the Niger Delta.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong, directed that fresh summons be served on the company through official correspondence, electronic mail and national newspaper publications. He said only the company's Managing Director or Chief Executive Officer would be permitted to represent it at the next hearing.
Ekpenyong also directed the NDDC to submit a comprehensive list of oil companies that had complied with their statutory remittance obligations and those that had not.
"We have come to find out that this is actually false. There's a lot of delays in payment and outright non-remittance," he said.
The petition, filed by environmental activist and oil spill litigation lawyer Matthew Echo on behalf of the Registered Trustees of the Niger Delta Development Initiative, alleged that NEPL had failed to remit the statutory three per cent contribution required under Section 14(2)(b) of the NDDC Act.
Echo told the committee that the alleged default had significantly weakened the commission's ability to execute development projects, address environmental degradation and tackle the ecological impact of decades of oil exploration in the region.
According to the petition, reconciliation meetings involving the NDDC, the company and consultants established that NEPL owed $71,663,832 and ₦30,738,854,898. Although the company acknowledged the outstanding liability, it had paid only ₦1.5 billion, the petitioner alleged.
Echo also recalled that the NDDC petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2021 over the alleged default, leading to a partial recovery before the company allegedly stopped making further payments.
He urged the committee to compel the company to settle the outstanding sums and consider recommending regulatory sanctions, including the suspension of its operations, should it continue to default.
Responding, NDDC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Dr Samuel Ogbuku, supported the petition, saying it reflected the commission's experience with several international oil companies.
"I want to thank this committee for its prompt intervention. Let me also extend my gratitude to the petitioner who, as a citizen of Nigeria and an indigene of the Niger Delta who cares about the region and its development, deemed it necessary to raise this petition," Ogbuku said.
He said the commission had intensified reconciliation efforts with the Federal Government and oil companies to improve funding, noting that statutory remittances remained the backbone of the NDDC's operations.
"To improve our funding, we initiated reconciliation processes with our stakeholder institutions, particularly the international oil companies, which are required by law to remit three per cent of their annual budgets to the NDDC," he said.
Ogbuku added that while the commission had made progress in recovering ecological funds and other statutory allocations, and had received support from the EFCC in recovering some outstanding oil company contributions, compliance by several operators remained poor.
"Our major challenge has been with some IOCs. We have written several letters and held numerous meetings. Initially, we thought they were cooperating, but these are public funds, not our personal funds," he said.
According to Ogbuku, inadequate remittances have constrained implementation of the commission's 2025 and 2026 budgets and threatened ongoing infrastructure projects across the Niger Delta.
During the hearing, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe said the Senate was exercising its constitutional oversight powers under Section 88 of the Constitution and noted that the company had been properly invited under its current name.
However, he said the principle of fair hearing required that NEPL be given another opportunity to appear before the committee. He also sought clarification on the outcome of a reconciliation meeting held on 2 February 2024.
In response, Ogbuku said both parties had agreed on the outstanding debt during the meeting but that the company had paid only ₦1.5 billion since then.
"After the reconciliation meeting, both parties adopted the figures representing the company's outstanding indebtedness. Since then, while we have continued to expect payment, the company has paid only ₦1.5 billion," he said.
Former Edo State Governor, Senator Adams Oshiomhole, argued that the partial payment demonstrated the company acknowledged its legal obligation.
"They have paid a token. For me, it is important that they have paid a token because what that tells me is that they are aware that they are under legal obligation to pay a certain amount. To falsify the books and pay less, in my view, is a crime," Oshiomhole said.
He also lamented the continued environmental degradation in oil-producing communities, saying the suffering in the Niger Delta remained an ongoing reality.
Senator Ede Dafinone described the alleged withholding of statutory contributions as a possible case of economic sabotage and called for stronger sanctions against companies that failed to comply with the NDDC Act.
He argued that, unlike the Petroleum Industry Act, the NDDC Act contained no effective penalties for non-compliance and urged lawmakers to address the gap to discourage delayed or unpaid remittances.
The committee adjourned the hearing for two weeks to allow NEMBE Exploration and Production Company to appear before the Senate panel and respond to the allegations.
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