Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee has issued a stern 48‑hour ultimatum to four major oil companies – Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Limited, All Grace Energy Limited and Aradel Energy Limited – to appear before it or face the “full invocation” of the National Assembly’s constitutional powers, after the firms repeatedly failed to honour invitations to answer queries raised in the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative audit reports for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
The ultimatum, delivered on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, followed a heated session at the Senate Hearing Room 022 in Abuja, where lawmakers expressed outrage over what they described as the companies’ “disdain” for legislative oversight. Committee Chairman Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo (PDP, Gombe North) warned that the managing directors of the affected firms must appear unfailingly by Thursday, August 13, or risk sanctions under Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, which empower the National Assembly to summon any person, company or agency for investigations.
Network E&P Nigeria Limited came under particularly fierce attack after the company reportedly wrote to the committee, stating that it was accountable to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) rather than the Senate. Senator Abdul Ningi (PDP, Bauchi Central) described the company’s position as “disturbing and provocative,” insisting that no oil company could dictate to the legislature which institution it would answer to. “The Senate and, by extension, the National Assembly, is the custodian of Nigerian law and has the power to invite anybody or agency for explanations on issues raised against them,” Ningi declared.
Senator Shehu Kaka Lawan (APC, Borno Central) backed the call for sanctions, urging the committee to stop issuing repeated invitations and invoke its constitutional powers against companies that continued to disregard its summons. Dankwambo subsequently ordered the Managing Director of Network E&P to appear on Thursday, saying: “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”. The committee extended similar ultimatums to the managing directors of Seplat Energy, All Grace Energy and Aradel Energy after their absence was recorded during Tuesday’s proceedings.
The standoff is part of a broader Senate probe into NEITI’s Oil and Gas Industry Audit Reports for 2021, 2022 and 2023, which cover remittances, royalties, gas‑flare penalties and other financial obligations of oil companies operating in Nigeria. The committee had previously summoned the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NUPRC as part of the same investigation. The oil companies are expected to explain discrepancies and outstanding liabilities identified in the audit reports, which have raised concerns over revenue leakages and non‑compliance with extractive industry transparency rules.
While the four companies stayed away and attracted the committee’s wrath, Dubri Oil Company Limited appeared before the lawmakers and mounted a vigorous defence against a $3.025 million debt attributed to it in the NEITI report. According to NEITI, based on information submitted by NUPRC in 2025, Dubri Oil owed $2.378 million in gas‑flare liabilities and $646,605.55 in oil production royalties. However, the company’s representative, Soyode Olusoji Clement, rejected the allegation, explaining that the figures arose from a reconciliation dispute between Dubri Oil and NUPRC that had since been resolved. Clement submitted documents to support the company’s position, and the committee said it would scrutinise them before deciding whether to clear Dubri Oil of the liability.
The committee’s ultimatum marks a dramatic escalation in the Senate’s scrutiny of the oil industry, coming amid growing public concern over unpaid royalties, gas‑flaring penalties and other financial obligations that could amount to billions of dollars in lost government revenue. Lawmakers have made it clear that they will not tolerate further disregard for legislative summons, and the 48‑hour deadline now puts the four companies on notice. Whether they will appear on Thursday or risk the full weight of the National Assembly’s constitutional powers remains to be seen, but the message from the Senate is unequivocal: the era of impunity for oil companies that snub legislative oversight is over.
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