Senate summons Seplat over audit queries
Senate issues 48-hour ultimatum to oil firms over audit queries.
The Senate has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Seplat Energy, Network E&P Nigeria Ltd., and other oil firms to appear before its Public Accounts Committee. The directive followed the companies’ failure to attend Tuesday’s investigative hearing in Abuja to answer audit queries contained in reports reviewed by lawmakers. Other companies handed the ultimatum include All Grace Energy Ltd. and Aradel Energy.
The audit queries are contained in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 reports submitted by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI). Chairman of the committee, Sen. Abdul Ningi, criticised the absence of the affected companies, describing their conduct as disturbing and unacceptable. He said the position reflected a misunderstanding of the Senate’s constitutional oversight powers and obligations under Nigeria’s democratic framework.
Ningi said: “The Senate and, by extension, the National Assembly, is the custodian of Nigerian law and has power to invite anybody or agency. Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution empowered lawmakers to summon individuals, organisations and agencies for explanations on public matters.”
The constitutional showdown is a test of legislative authority. The companies are arguing that they are regulated by the NUPRC, but the Senate is asserting its constitutional oversight powers. The outcome will set a precedent for future engagements between the legislature and the extractive industry.
This echoes the 2019 Senate summons of oil companies over audit queries, which also tested the limits of legislative authority. The mechanism then was different, but the result was the same: a clash between the legislature and the extractive industry.
The winners: the Senate, if the companies comply; and the Nigerian public, who may gain transparency. The losers: the companies, if they are sanctioned; and the Nigerian government, which must manage the relationship with the extractive industry.
Bottom Line: The Senate has given oil companies 48 hours to appear. The oversight battle is heating up. The question is whether the companies will comply or defy the summons.