EFCC recovers N115bn, $84m NDDC levy from oil firms

Nigeria's anti-graft agency has recovered over 115 billion naira and $84 million in outstanding statutory levies owed to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by 24 oil companies. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) disclosed this to the Senate Public Accounts Committee during its investigation into the 2021-2023 Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report.

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At the commencement of the investigation, EFCC invited 43 oil companies, out of which 24 operating within the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities in the sums of N76,883,705,907.17 and $81,076,655.00, while the remaining 19 other oil companies were given a clean bill of health.

Francis Usani, representing the EFCC, stated that the commission investigated 43 oil companies based on queries from the NEITI audit. Of these, 24 companies operating in the Niger Delta were found to have outstanding liabilities for the three percent statutory levy payable to the NDDC. Initially, these companies owed approximately N76.88 billion and $81.08 million.

Usani explained that the EFCC's intervention prompted some companies to settle their obligations directly with the NDDC. A total of N6.71 billion and $16.99 million were paid directly. The EFCC subsequently released N73.37 billion and $67.07 million of the recovered funds to the NDDC, while N3.51 billion and $14.01 million remain in the commission's recovery account. The EFCC's investigation focused on the unpaid NDDC levies but did not exclude the possibility of other unpaid statutory obligations to the Federal Government.

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Out of the sums so far recovered by the commission on behalf of NDDC, total sums of N73.37bn and $67.07m have been released to NDDC, leaving the balance of N3.51bn and $14.01m in EFCC’s recovery account.

This recovery effort is significant given the NDDC's mandate to develop the Niger Delta region, an area facing substantial environmental and socioeconomic concerns due to oil and gas activities. The recovered funds are intended to support development projects in the region.

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The EFCC focused on one primary pillar identified in the NEITI report, i.e., unpaid three per cent statutory levies due to NDDC, but we did not lose sight of the fact that there could be other unpaid statutory obligations and taxes due to the Federal Government.