The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is facing renewed scrutiny after the Auditor-General for the Federation uncovered more than N432bn in unpaid debts, statutory levies and other outstanding financial obligations involving petroleum marketers.
According to the Auditor-General’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, the largest portion of the liabilities—N431.01bn—comprises legacy National Transport Average and bridging allowance debts owed to the petroleum regulator by marketers.
The report, obtained from the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation and analysed by our correspondent on Monday, revealed that Federal Government ministries, departments and agencies were linked to at least N1.39tn in recurring financial irregularities, control weaknesses and breaches of public finance regulations in 2024.
The N1.39tn represents the combined value of 30 monetary issues identified across government institutions, highlighting persistent weaknesses in the management and recovery of public funds.
The largest category was N882.75bn in unrecovered debts involving six MDAs, representing approximately 63 per cent of the total value of the cross-cutting issues.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria had the largest share of the unrecovered debts at N446.70bn, while the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria, recorded the lowest amount among the affected agencies at N935.56m.
For the NMDPRA, auditors noted that the N431.01bn debt had remained largely unresolved years after it was incurred. They further stated that as of August 2025, there was no evidence that the situation had changed.
The N431.01bn legacy debt was significantly higher than other financial irregularities identified at the authority. These included N1.06bn in unpaid statutory levies owed by 14 oil marketers and N217.84m in unremitted Industrial Training Fund contributions.
The audit findings show that the N431.01bn legacy debt accounted for almost all of the N432.29bn in major outstanding financial issues identified in the sections of the report concerning the NMDPRA.
The Auditor-General said the N431.01bn represented accumulated obligations arising from the National Transport Average, bridging allowance and other legacy debts.
A breakdown showed that the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria accounted for N315.18bn. This comprised N132.56bn in bridging allowance debt and N182.62bn in National Transport Average obligations.
The Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria accounted for a further N106.30bn, while N9.53bn represented an unissued legacy debt in promissory notes by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The report stated, “Section 47(1) of the Petroleum Industry Act (2021) states, “The Authority shall maintain a Fund (in this Act referred to as “the Authority Fund”) into which money accruing to the Commission shall be paid. Audit observed that: i. The sum of N431,012,935,018.88 was the National Transport Average, legacy debt and bridging allowance indebtedness to NMDPRA as at May 2023.”
It added that, “As at the time of this audit in August, 2025, nothing came to the knowledge of the auditors to have changed the position of the amount of the indebtedness, and There was no justification provided for non-recovery of the third parties’ indebtedness to the Authority.”
The auditors further said, “The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Abuja.
The Office of the Auditor-General attributed the outstanding debts to weaknesses in the NMDPRA’s internal control system, warning that such lapses could expose government funds to potential loss or diversion.
The NMDPRA acknowledged the outstanding liabilities but described the N431.01bn as legacy receivables owed by marketers.
The authority said it had begun efforts to reconcile the outstanding balances with the affected companies.
“Management notes that the sum of N431,012,935,018.88 represents a legacy receivable due from marketers. Efforts have been made to engage the affected marketers for reconciliation and sign-off of the outstanding balances,” the NMDPRA said.
However, the Auditor-General rejected the explanation, stating, “The management’s response to the issue has been noted; however, it is deemed unsatisfactory. Consequently, the findings remain valid until the recommendations are implemented,” the report stated.
The auditors recommended that the Chief Executive of the authority explain the failure to recover the N431.01bn before the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly.
They also directed the authority to recover the outstanding funds and remit them to the Treasury.
The report warned that failure to collect and properly account for government revenue could attract sanctions, while officials could face consequences for gross misconduct if the recommendations were not implemented.
N1.06bn Unpaid Levies
In another finding, the Auditor-General disclosed that 14 oil marketers owed N1.06bn in unpaid statutory levies on petroleum products.
Under the Petroleum Industry Act, the NMDPRA is entitled to collect 0.5 per cent of the wholesale price of petroleum products sold in Nigeria to wholesale customers as one of its sources of funding.
The audit found that N1.06bn remained outstanding as of January 24, 2025.
“The sum of N1,059,622,848.29 was standing as the amount of indebtedness for the year 2024, by fourteen oil marketers,” the report stated.
The outstanding amount included penalties imposed on defaulting marketers, excluding Premium Motor Spirit.
The NMDPRA, however, said it had recovered N3.19bn out of total outstanding levies of N4.25bn covering January to December 2024.
The authority said, “Following reconciliation exercises, the Authority recovered N3.19bn of the N4.25bn outstanding 0.5 per cent Authority Levy for January-December 2024. The remaining balance of N1.06bn is being pursued through Demand Notices issued to the defaulting marketers.”
The auditors maintained the finding in respect of the N1.06bn still outstanding and directed the authority to recover and remit the funds to the Treasury.
N217.84m ITF Contribution Unpaid
The audit report also found that the NMDPRA failed to remit N217.84m to the Industrial Training Fund in 2024.
According to the report, the authority’s payroll for the year was N21.78bn, making it liable to remit one per cent of its total payroll to the ITF under the Industrial Training Fund Act.
“The unremitted 1 per cent statutory Industrial Training Fund from the gross salary in the payroll of the Authority amounted to N217,841,922.18,” the report said.
The NMDPRA said it was working to settle the outstanding obligation.
“The Authority is in the process of settling the outstanding 1 per cent Industrial Training Fund obligation. Evidence of payment will be submitted to the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation upon completion of the remittance,” management said.
The Auditor-General again found the response unsatisfactory and maintained that the audit finding would remain until the outstanding contribution was fully remitted.
Renewed Pressure on NMDPRA
The findings come amid increased scrutiny of government agencies over revenue collection, recovery and remittance, following repeated calls for greater accountability and stronger controls in the management of public funds.
The NMDPRA was established under the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 to regulate Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sectors, including the distribution, transportation, storage and marketing of petroleum products.
The latest audit findings are expected to increase pressure on the authority to recover billions of naira tied up in legacy petroleum-sector debts and strengthen its internal controls to prevent further revenue leakages.
However, some major oil marketers denied owing the agency when contacted for comments, insisting that they had already cleared their obligations to the authority.
