The senate committee on public accounts has announced a special legislative oversight and public hearing on the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) oil and gas industry audit reports covering 2021, 2022 and 2023.
In a notice announcing the public hearing, Ibrahim Dankwambo, chairman of the senate committee on public accounts, said it forms part of the panel’s constitutional oversight responsibilities under sections 88, 89 and 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), as well as order 95(5)(d) of the senate standing orders, 2026.
According to Dankwambo, who represents Gombe north, the audit reports submitted under the NEITI Act contain details of the operations, revenues, payments, remittances and financial obligations of stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He said the hearing is intended to assess compliance by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), government-owned enterprises, regulatory bodies and operators in the oil and gas industry with the constitution, the NEITI Act, financial regulations, the Fiscal Responsibility Act and other applicable laws governing the extractive sector.
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The senator added that the exercise would also examine issues arising from the audit reports to promote transparency, accountability, revenue assurance and prudent management of public resources.
He disclosed that the committee has invited more than 50 public institutions and oil and gas companies to appear before it between August 3 and August 25, with proceedings scheduled to commence at 3pm daily.
The institutions scheduled to appear include the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the office of the national security adviser (ONSA), the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the office of the accountant-general of the federation, the office of the auditor-general for the federation, the federal ministry of finance and the ministry of petroleum resources, alongside several indigenous and international oil companies.
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Dankwambo said the committee had directed all invited organisations to be represented by their accounting officers, accompanied by relevant technical officers, and to attend with all documents relating to the audit reports and issues under consideration.
He added that requests for postponement or rescheduling would only be considered in exceptional circumstances and with its prior approval.
According to him, the committee has also requested memoranda from members of the public, civil society organisations (CSOs), professional bodies, host communities, industry experts, development partners and other stakeholders on issues arising from the audit reports.
He said all memoranda, comprising 15 bound copies and one soft copy, should be submitted to the committee secretariat on or before July 27. Cable
