The House of Representatives has threatened to take action against the chief executive officers of Heirs Holdings, AITEO Group, Midwestern Oil and Gas Limited, and 25 other oil firms for failing to honor its invitations over its probe into an alleged $1,230,708,293.14 (approximately N1.8 trillion) debt owed to the federal government.

The other 24 companies are Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd, All Grace Energy, Amalgamated Oil Company Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria (OML 100, 102, 52 & 99), Bilton Energy Limited, Enageed Resources Limited, Waltersmith Petroman Limited, Conoil Plc, Continental Oil & Gas Company Ltd, Energia Limited and First E&P International Ltd.

Others include Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd (NAE), Heirs Holdings, Neconde Energy Limited, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) – OML 60, 61 & 6, Lekoil Oil and Gas Investments Limited, Millennium Oil and Gas Company Limited, Oando Oil Ltd (OML 60, 61 & 62), Pillar Oil Limited, Platform Petroleum Limited, Universal Energy Limited/Sinpec, Sahara Field Production Limited, and Oriental Energy Resources Limited.

Akin Rotimi, spokesperson for the House of Representatives, made the disclosure in a statement on Sunday. He added that the funds are part of a N9 trillion outstanding liability queried by the auditor-general for the federation in a 2021 report submitted to the National Assembly.

Rotimi noted that after the committee scrutinized financial records from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), significant lapses in royalty payments and reconciliation processes within the sector were uncovered. According to the lawmaker, some of the debts have accumulated over four years, underscoring persistent revenue leakages in the oil and gas sector.

The committee has given the affected companies a further grace period of one week to submit all relevant documentation regarding their statutory obligations and appear before the committee,” Rotimi said. He also warned that failure to comply within the stipulated timeframe would attract firm legislative and regulatory sanctions to enforce accountability.

The statement also disclosed that 28 major oil and gas operator firms have agreed to remit a total of $37,435,094.52 (approximately N58 billion) to the federation account before August 2025. These companies include Belema Oil, Panocean Oil Nigeria Ltd, and Newcross Exploration & Production Ltd, along with Dubri Oil Company Ltd, Chorus Energy, Amni International, and Network Exploration.

In addition to the seven companies that have committed to payment, Rotimi said the committee’s investigation revealed that 45 oil and gas firms owe $1.7 billion (N2.5 trillion) in unpaid royalties as of December 31, 2024.

Nine companies, with a combined outstanding balance of $429.2 million, have contested the figures and requested a reconciliation process with NUPRC to verify their actual liabilities,” the statement reads.

These companies include Aradel/Niger Delta, Chevron, STAR DEEP, Shore Line, Seplat Producing Unlimited, Esso Erha, Esso Usan, Eroton Exploration, and Seplat Energy. The committee has directed that the reconciliation process be completed within two weeks, after which companies are required to clear their verified debts without further delay.”

Rotimi said only two companies, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production, have fully complied with their royalty payment obligations.

According to the lawmaker, the committee affirmed its commitment to ensuring that all oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria comply with statutory payment obligations under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). The committee also pledged to intensify oversight to recover outstanding revenues and address revenue leakages in the industry.

Nasir El-Rufai, former Governor of Kaduna State and a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has announced his defection from the ruling party to the Social Democratic Party (SDP).

In a statement released on Monday, March 10, 2025, El-Rufai explained that his decision was primarily driven by a growing misalignment between his personal values and the direction of the APC.

The Kaduna politician expressed his disappointment with the leadership of the APC, accusing the party of straying from the progressive ideals upon which it was founded.

El-Rufai shared that he had raised concerns about the party’s trajectory both privately and publicly over the past two years but found no willingness among the current leadership to address these issues.

Read the full statement below:

As a founding member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), I have fond memories of working with other compatriots to negotiate the merger of political parties that created the APC. It had been my hope since 2013 that my personal values and that of the APC will continue to align up to the time I choose to retire from politics.

Developments in the last two years confirm that there is no desire on the part of those who currently control and run the APC to acknowledge, much less address, the unhealthy situation of the party.

On my part, I have raised concerns in private and, more recently, in public regarding the capricious trajectory of the party. Therefore, at this point in my political journey, I have come to the conclusion that I must seek another political platform for the pursuit of the progressive values I cherish.

Founders rightly feel attached towards institutions they helped create, but one must be pragmatic enough to admit when a divergence appears unbridgeable. I have diligently served the APC and made my contributions to its viability as a political platform, but I recognize that the party has since strayed and left me stuck in the vision of its well-meaning founding fathers and mothers.

As a loyal party man, I worked to help secure the APC’s election victories in 2015, 2019 and 2023. I was one of the many governors elected on the party’s platform in 2015 and 2019, that stood for certain democratic and progressive principles to advance nation-building. My eight-year tenure in Kaduna State was devoted to implementing progressive policies to advance human development in education and healthcare, as well as expand infrastructure, promote equality of opportunity, create jobs and attract investments.

These records count for little in the current APC that has castrated its organs and treated its membership with contempt in the last two years. I find this no longer acceptable.

Today, 10th March 2025, I have submitted a letter resigning my membership of the APC to my ward in Kaduna, effective immediately.

Prior to this step, I had concluded consultations with my mentors, colleagues and loyalists across the country about the future. I have now decided to join the Social Democratic Party (SDP), and adopt it as the platform for our future political engagements and activities.

Without prejudice to this decision, as a member of the SDP, I will focus on engaging with and persuading other opposition leaders and parties to join us and congregate under a unified democratic platform to challenge the APC in all elections and bye-elections between now and 2027 by the Grace of God. I therefore call on all our supporters and other persons concerned about our country’s future to join us in the SDP in the journey towards making Nigeria flourish as a beacon of pride for Africans and the Black Race.

Thank you and God Bless the Social Democratic Party.

God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Nasir Ahmad El-Ru

fai, CON

Abuja, Nigeria

10th March 2025

An official from the American International School, Abuja, on Wednesday testified in the Federal High Court in a case of money laundering involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello.

The official revealed that the former governor paid a total of $1,606,763.68 in school fees for his children.

Nicholas Ojehomon, an auditor at the school, gave this testimony during the ongoing trial, where he appeared as a prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). Ojehomon confirmed that the payments covered Bello’s children’s tuition fees up until their graduation, with part of the amount paid upfront for future school fees.

Bello is facing a fraud charge amounting to N80.2 billion filed by the EFCC. During the trial, the prosecution presented financial records, including detailed statements from the school, showing payments made on behalf of Bello’s children.

In earlier testimony, Williams Abimbola, a compliance officer at United Bank for Africa (UBA), had submitted documents showing transactions related to the school fees. The EFCC had previously alleged that just before leaving office, Bello paid $760,000 as an advance for his children’s school fees, which was later refunded following an investigation.

On Thursday, Ojehomon testified that Bello’s brother, Ali Bello, facilitated the school fee payments. He explained, “Mr. Ali Bello contacted the American International School, Abuja, on Friday, August 13, to arrange payment for the school fees of the Bello children until they graduate. The school management accepted the payment.”

Ojehomon confirmed that the payments were made for four of Bello’s children, enrolled in Grades 8, 6, 4, and 2, and also included fees for future children who were expected to start in August 2022, assuming space was available.

The amounts paid for each child included: $90,074 for the child in Grade 8, $87,470 for the child in Grade 6, $26,241 for the child in Grade 4, and $18,707 for the child in Grade 2.

The witness also identified a contractual agreement between the school and Ali Bello, detailing the prepayment arrangement.

EFCC counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) presented the school’s admission and prepaid tuition documents as evidence. Ojehomon further testified that a refund of $760,910.84 was made to the EFCC, confirming that the refund was transferred to an account at the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The court also heard from Williams, the UBA witness, who submitted additional financial documents related to accounts managed under Bello’s administration. She testified that multiple withdrawals were made through cheques from the Kogi State Government House account, often broken into tranches of N10 million, with funds primarily issued to two individuals, Abdulsalam Hudu and Aminu J.O.

Williams confirmed that, on December 12, 2018, ten transactions of N10 million each were processed in favor of Abdulsalam Hudu. Key signatories to the account were also named, including Christopher Enefola (Permanent Secretary), Onekutu Daniel (Chief Accountant), and Abdulsalam Hudu (Accountant).

However, under cross-examination, Williams admitted that Yahaya Bello’s name did not appear in any of the transactions related to the Kogi Government House account. Defense counsel, Daudu, noted that Bello’s name was absent from the documents presented, to which Williams confirmed it was not listed. She further clarified that she was not the account officer in charge of the Kogi Government House account, which was managed from Lokoja, Kogi State, rather than her branch in Area 3, Abuja.

Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the trial to Friday, March 6, for further proceedings.