The House of Representatives announced on Sunday that two oil companies, Seplat Production Development Limited and Chorus Energy Limited, have collectively paid ₦28.7 billion to the Federation Account.
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Green Chamber is investigating the audit report from the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation for the 2021 financial year.
According to a statement from House spokesman Akintunde Rotimi (APC, Ekiti), Chorus Energy Limited cleared its outstanding liability by paying $847,623 (₦1.2 billion) on March 11, 2025. Meanwhile, Seplat Production Development Limited fully settled its obligation by remitting $18.39 million (₦27.6 billion) between March 10 and March 14, 2025.
Rotimi added that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has received evidence of payment for final verification.
The statement further noted that Shoreline Natural Resources Ltd. had already paid $30 million toward its $100.28 million debt before the investigation began. The company has since requested a structured repayment plan for the remaining balance.
During the committee’s proceedings, NUPRC representative Balarabe Haruna reported that, following recent reconciliations, Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited (formerly Mobil Producing) now holds a credit balance of $211,911.09 for crude oil royalty, $33.01 million for gas flare penalties, and $163,046.40 for concession rentals, with no outstanding liabilities. The committee commended Seplat Energy for its prompt compliance with its financial obligations.
Additionally, the committee reaffirmed its commitment to employing all constitutionally sanctioned measures to recover outstanding debts from the remaining 38 oil companies under investigation.
The committee further confirmed that Amalgamated Oil Company Nigeria Ltd, Seplat Energy, Shell Exploration and Production, and Shell Petroleum Development Company have fully settled their obligations and are no longer financially liable.
The committee also reported that it had successfully recovered ₦199.3 million out of an outstanding ₦6.8 billion in excessive charges levied between March and October 2015, as well as unremitted Value Added Tax (VAT) on transactions processed via the Remita platform from 2015 to 2022.
Following a motion sponsored by Jeremjah Umaru, the House in 2024 had ordered the committee to investigate revenue leakages and non-remittance of funds by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) through Remita.
According to the committee’s report, the Federal Government had previously directed value chain providers, including banks, Remita, and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to refund 1% transaction charges collected via Remita between March and October 2015.
An audit of records revealed that while ₦7,626,503,441.42 had been refunded, an outstanding sum of ₦1,984,355,431.08 remained unpaid. Applying the prevailing Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) of 27.25%, the accumulated interest on the unpaid sum amounted to ₦4,842,928,161.36, bringing the total refundable amount to ₦6,827,283,592.44.
On March 13, 2025, Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) settled ₦40.6 million in overdue charges for the period between March and October 2015. Further investigations revealed non-remittance of VAT on transactions processed via Remita. The CBN acknowledged an outstanding VAT liability of ₦521,765,134.17 for transactions between November 2018 and April 2024, which remains unsettled.
The committee also reported that Zenith Bank had remitted ₦126,131,692.86, while Guaranty Trust Bank paid ₦32,585,882.48. Despite these recoveries, several other value chain providers are yet to comply with VAT remittance requirements and other under-remittances identified in the investigation.
Bamidele Salam, Chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee (PDP, Osun), reaffirmed the committee’s resolve to pursue every avenue to recover public funds.
“These recoveries demonstrate the effectiveness of the oversight function of the National Assembly in ensuring accountability and transparency in the management of public funds.
“We will continue to engage with relevant institutions and deploy all necessary legislative tools to recover outstanding debts and prevent revenue leakages. Our objective is to ensure that every kobo due to the Federation is accounted for and remitted accordingly,” he said.
Salam further emphasized that the House of Representatives, through the Public Accounts Committee, remains committed to upholding financial discipline, strengthening institutional accountability, and safeguarding public resources in the national interest.