Oil marketers fail to remit N431bn levies, Auditor-General report reveals
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority is facing fresh scrutiny after the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation uncovered over N432bn in unpaid debts, statutory levies and other outstanding obligations involving petroleum marketers.
The bulk of the liabilities, N431.01bn, consists of legacy National Transport Average and bridging allowance debts owed to the regulator by marketers, according to the Auditor-General’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
N431bn legacy debts
The report, obtained from the OAGF office and analysed on Monday, shows that the unpaid obligations are tied to marketers who benefited from transport and bridging allowance schemes but failed to remit their own contributions.
This is not a new liability but a legacy debt that has remained unpaid for years, leaving the downstream regulator exposed. The sums were meant to support the distribution of petroleum products across Nigeria, but the report says the money is still outstanding.
N1.39tn public finance breaches
The petroleum marketers’ debts are part of a wider pattern of weak financial controls in government. The Auditor-General linked Federal Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies to at least N1.39tn in recurring financial irregularities, control failures and breaches of public finance regulations in 2024.
That amount represents the cumulative value of 30 monetary cross-cutting issues identified by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation. The scale of the figure points to repeated weaknesses in how public funds are managed across government institutions.
For the downstream petroleum sector, the report raises fresh concerns about enforcement. The NMDPRA is expected to recover the outstanding sums from marketers, but the Auditor-General’s findings suggest that past obligations have not been properly resolved.
The development puts pressure on the regulator to tighten its oversight and ensure that marketers comply with levy and allowance arrangements. For consumers and businesses, the unresolved debts raise questions about transparency and accountability in the petroleum sector, even as the government continues to push for a more efficient downstream market.