The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) says it has recovered N83.59 billion and $98.07 million in outstanding three per cent statutory levies some oil companies are owing the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
The commission disclosed this on Wednesday when Francis Usani, its special adviser on regulatory compliance, appeared before the senate committee on public accounts investigating findings in the 2021–2023 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) oil and gas industry audit report.
The committee, chaired by Ibrahim Dankwambo, senator representing Gombe north, is probing outstanding statutory obligations by oil companies and other entities in the extractive sector.
According to the EFCC’s investigation report, the NEITI audit identified N90.046 billion and $229.534 million in outstanding three per cent NDDC levies covering 2015 to 2020.
Usani said the EFCC invited 43 oil companies following the NEITI findings and found that 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta had outstanding liabilities.
He said 19 other companies had no outstanding liabilities and were released after the investigation.
“The EFCC recovered N76.884 billion and $81.077 million directly from the 24 companies, with the money paid into its recovery account domiciled with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),” he said.
He said the commission subsequently released N73.373 billion and $67.071 million to the NDDC.
As of July 31, the EFCC said N3.510 billion and $14.006 million remained in its recovery account.
FIRMS PAID ADDITIONAL ₦6.7BN, $17M DIRECTLY TO NDDC
The commission also disclosed that some oil companies paid N6.710 billion and $16.994 million directly into the NDDC’s revenue account following its intervention.
The payments were made at the instance of the EFCC, with the companies subsequently submitting receipts to the commission for confirmation.
When the direct EFCC recoveries and the payments made directly to NDDC are combined, the total amount recovered stands at about N83.59 billion and $98.07 million.
Usani said the EFCC’s investigation focused primarily on the unpaid three per cent statutory levy due to the NDDC as identified by NEITI.
He, however, said the commission was also looking at the possibility of other outstanding statutory obligations and taxes owed the federal government.
“The EFCC focused on one primary pillar identified in the NEITI report, which is unpaid three per cent statutory levies due to NDDC,” he said.
“However, we did not lose sight of the fact that there could be other unpaid statutory obligations and taxes due to the federal government.”
The senate panel is examining the NEITI 2021–2023 oil and gas sector audit report, particularly allegations of non-remittance and under-remittance of statutory payments by operators in the oil and gas industry.
The investigation is also expected to establish the level of compliance by oil companies with their financial obligations to the NDDC and other government agencies and identify possible revenue leakages in the sector.
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