The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has recovered more than ₦115 billion and $81 million in outstanding statutory levies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by oil companies between 2021 and 2023.
The disclosure was made during an ongoing Senate investigation into Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, as lawmakers reviewed financial and compliance concerns contained in the 2021–2023 NEITI Oil and Gas Sector Audit Reports.
An EFCC representative, Francis Oka-Phillips Usani, told the Senate Committee on Public Accounts that the commission investigated 43 oil companies over alleged failure to remit the mandatory three per cent NDDC levy.
According to Usani, investigations established that 24 of the companies had outstanding liabilities totaling ₦76.88 billion and $81.08 million, while the remaining 19 companies were cleared of the levy obligations.
He explained that following the EFCC’s intervention and recovery efforts, some companies made direct payments to the NDDC amounting to ₦6.71 billion and $16.99 million.
The EFCC representative further disclosed that ₦73.37 billion and $67.07 million recovered through the process had already been transferred to the NDDC. Meanwhile, ₦3.51 billion and $14.01 million remained in the commission’s recovery account.
The development is part of the Senate’s broader review of financial irregularities, revenue remittances and compliance issues identified in the NEITI audit reports covering Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
As part of the investigation, the Senate committee has also summoned the managing directors of several oil companies, including TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, South Atlantic Petroleum, Oando Oil, Famfa Oil and Green Energy International, to appear before lawmakers and respond to outstanding audit queries.
The Senate’s probe is aimed at strengthening accountability in the petroleum industry and ensuring that statutory obligations owed to government agencies are properly remitted. Lawmakers are particularly focused on ensuring that revenues due to the NDDC are fully recovered and accounted for.
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The EFCC recovery highlights the continuing efforts by Nigerian authorities to enforce compliance with statutory financial obligations in the oil and gas sector while improving transparency and accountability in the management of public revenues.
