The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has recovered more than N115 billion and $81 million in outstanding statutory levies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission by oil companies operating between 2021 and 2023.
EFCC representative Francis Oka-Phillips Usani told the Senate Committee on Public Accounts that the commission investigated 43 oil companies following findings in the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative's 2021-2023 Oil and Gas Sector Audit Report. Of these, 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities totalling N76.883 billion and $81.076 million in unpaid three percent statutory levies, while the remaining 19 were cleared.
Usani said N73.373 billion and $67.070 million recovered on the NDDC's behalf had already been released to the commission, with N3.510 billion and $14.005 million still held in the EFCC's recovery account. The Senate committee separately rejected an attempt by TotalEnergies EP Nigeria to respond to audit queries through inadequate representation, directing the company's managing director to appear in person the following week.