The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is facing renewed scrutiny over ₦432.29bn in outstanding financial obligations, including ₦431.01bn in legacy debts owed by petroleum marketers.
The findings are contained in the Auditor-General for the Federation’s 2024 Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
The report identified the ₦431.01bn as accumulated National Transport Average (NTA), bridging allowance and other legacy obligations owed to the NMDPRA.
It said the debt remained substantially unresolved, with auditors finding no evidence that its position had changed as of August 2025.
The Auditor-General 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: “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 debt breakdown showed that the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria accounted for ₦315.18bn, comprising ₦132.56bn in bridging allowance and ₦182.62bn in NTA obligations.
The Major Energy Marketers Association of Nigeria accounted for another ₦106.30bn, while ₦9.53bn represented unissued legacy debt in promissory notes by the Federal Ministry of Finance.
The auditors attributed the situation to weaknesses in the NMDPRA’s internal controls.
“The above anomalies could be attributed to weaknesses in the internal control system at the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Abuja,” the report stated.
NMDPRA, however, described the ₦431.01bn as legacy receivables due from marketers and said it was working to reconcile the outstanding balances.
“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 authority said.
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 auditors directed the NMDPRA Chief Executive to explain the non-recovery of the ₦431.01bn to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly and recover and remit the money to the Treasury.
Separately, the audit found that 14 oil marketers owed ₦1.06bn in outstanding statutory levies as of January 24, 2025.
Under the Petroleum Industry Act, the NMDPRA is entitled to collect a 0.5 per cent levy on the wholesale price of petroleum products sold in Nigeria from wholesale customers.
The report stated: “The sum of N1,059,622,848.29 was standing as the amount of indebtedness for the year 2024, by fourteen oil marketers.”
NMDPRA said it had recovered ₦3.19bn out of ₦4.25bn in outstanding 0.5 per cent Authority Levy for January to December 2024, leaving ₦1.06bn being pursued from defaulting marketers.
“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,” NMDPRA said.
The Auditor-General sustained the finding on the ₦1.06bn outstanding levy and directed the authority to recover and remit the money to the Treasury.
The audit also found that NMDPRA failed to remit ₦217.84m in statutory Industrial Training Fund contributions in 2024.
The authority’s payroll stood at ₦21.78bn, making it liable to remit one per cent of its payroll to the ITF.
The report stated: “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.”
NMDPRA said it was settling the obligation and would submit evidence of payment after the remittance.
“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 deemed the response unsatisfactory and maintained the finding until the money is remitted.
The audit findings have also drawn responses from some major oil marketers, who, when contacted, denied owing the authority and insisted that their obligations had been cleared.