An ultimatum has been issued to four major oil firms operating in Nigeria, requiring their chief executives to appear before the Senate Public Accounts Committee within 48 hours to answer queries raised in recent financial audits.
Chaired by Senator Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, the legislative panel moved to compel the attendance of top executives from Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Limited, All Grace Energy Limited, and Aradel Energy Limited. The directive comes after the firms repeatedly failed to honour previous invitations regarding the 2021, 2022, and 2023 audit reports published by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
The confrontation intensified after Network E&P Nigeria Limited submitted a letter asserting it was accountable to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) rather than the Senate. Senator Abdul Ningi described the communication as “disturbing and provocative,” while Senator Shehu Kaka Lawan also urged the committee to impose sanctions.
Reaffirming the legislature’s mandate, Ningi stated that “Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution empower the National Assembly to invite anybody or agency for explanations on issues raised against them.”
Senator Dankwambo directed his warning specifically at Network E&P’s chief executive and cautioned that the managing director must appear “on Thursday this week or risk full invocation of legislative powers against him.” Identical orders were extended to the heads of the three other absent firms.
The committee’s hearing forms part of broader parliamentary scrutiny designed to stem revenue leakages and enforce transparency across the extractive industry.