The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has rejected findings in the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation's 2023/2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies, which alleged under-remitted gas flare penalties. The rebuttal came in a statement signed by George Ene-Ita, Director of Public Affairs, issued on Tuesday.
The response followed a Punch report that the Auditor-General of the Federation had flagged financial irregularities and revenue gaps amounting to about N94.4 billion at the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF), a directorate of the authority.
NMDPRA explained that gas flare penalty remittances are collected exclusively by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) under its statutory mandate. The collections are paid into the Federation Account, after which disbursements are made to MDGIF's dedicated account with the Central Bank of Nigeria through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) at monthly meetings.
The authority said the process is well documented and records are readily available. It maintained that variances flagged in gas flare penalty remittances reflect timing and reconciliation across the multi-agency Federation Account channel through which NUPRC collects and remits the funds, rather than unaccounted revenue.
NMDPRA said the Fund has formally written to the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation with supporting FAAC records to request a review of the position. It stressed that MDGIF's role is limited to receiving statutory revenues rather than collecting them, so any shortfall that may ultimately be established falls within the remit of the collecting agencies, not the Fund.
Reconciliation of all monies accruing to MDGIF is a joint undertaking involving the relevant regulatory institutions in the sector, and the process remains ongoing to ensure outstanding amounts are properly accounted for, the statement added. The authority also said MDGIF operates under a governance architecture anchored by its Investment Policy Statement and overseen by its Governing Council, with all transactions duly authorised. It said the Fund takes its obligations under Section 52 of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 seriously and welcomes scrutiny of public resources dedicated to Nigeria's gas infrastructure agenda.
