The House of Representatives has rejected a petition alleging money laundering and conflict of interest against Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Executive Vice President for Downstream, Dr Mumuni Dagazau, after a legislative investigation found insufficient evidence to support the claims.
The House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream) said the petitioners failed to provide documentary evidence despite being given opportunities to substantiate their allegations. The committee subsequently dismissed the petition in its entirety and passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Tinubu and NNPCL management over their handling of reforms in the downstream petroleum sector.
Committee chairman Ikenga Ugochinyere announced the resolutions on Monday at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja following the consideration of a report by an ad hoc subcommittee assigned to investigate the allegations.
The petition was submitted by the Coalition for Transparency and Accountability in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector. According to Ugochinyere, members of the coalition appeared before the subcommittee on October 21 but presented newspaper clippings instead of documentary evidence to support their claims.
He said the petitioners were given additional opportunities to provide relevant documents but failed to return on Thursday and Friday.
Dagazau, meanwhile, responded to the committee’s invitation through representatives who appeared before the panel and answered questions put to them, the chairman said.
The committee also considered an existing court order relating to the matter before deciding to dismiss the petition.
“Having considered the report of the sub-committee, this committee has today resolved to dismiss the petition in its entirety. No evidence was placed before us in support of any of the allegations. An allegation is not evidence, and a newspaper clipping is not proof,” Ugochinyere said.
He warned that petitioners who make serious allegations against public officials but fail to substantiate them risk abusing the National Assembly’s oversight process and causing reputational damage.
The chairman, however, maintained that the committee remained open to investigating allegations backed by credible evidence and would continue to exercise its oversight powers without fear or favour.
The decision followed the committee’s review of wider developments in the downstream petroleum industry, including domestic refining, crude supply, fuel distribution and proposals to amend the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
Lawmakers also expressed confidence in Tinubu’s leadership of the sector’s reform programme and commended NNPCL management for its role in implementing the changes.
Ugochinyere said the committee had observed improvements in petroleum-product supply and increased participation by domestic refiners, despite elevated international crude oil prices.
He reported that domestic refineries had increased their contribution to petrol supply by more than 75 per cent. He also said the industry regulator had recorded no supply shortfalls, while national petroleum-product sufficiency had exceeded 25 days.
To strengthen the country’s supply buffer, the committee had agreed with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to pursue 45 days of national sufficiency within the current quarter and develop strategic stocks capable of covering up to 90 days in 2027, according to the chairman.
Ugochinyere further disclosed that crude deliveries to local refineries under the Domestic Crude Supply Obligation reached 97.4 per cent of allocated volumes in the second quarter of 2026.
Domestic crude accounted for more than 80 per cent of the crude received by Nigerian refineries between January and September, he added.
The committee chairman also cited Nigeria’s crude oil production, which he said reached 1.56 million barrels per day in June, the highest level in 74 months. He presented the figures as indicators of progress under the government’s petroleum reform agenda.
The committee also highlighted measures aimed at easing the burden of rising fuel prices on consumers.
Ugochinyere said a reported ₦66-per-litre petrol discount was introduced on October 1. He added that the Federal Government announced on October 8 that NNPC Retail would suspend its profit margin and sell petrol at cost for 30 days, prioritising commercial transport operators.
According to him, the arrangement was designed to offer temporary relief without restoring the former fuel subsidy regime. The discount, he said, would be absorbed through NNPC Retail’s margin rather than the public treasury.
The committee also cited NNPCL’s investment in alternative-fuel infrastructure as part of efforts to diversify energy sources and improve petroleum-product distribution.
Ugochinyere said more than 120,000 vehicles were operating on compressed natural gas (CNG), while NNPCL had acquired 500 CNG-powered trucks for fuel distribution. The company had also delivered 35 CNG-hybrid buses to the Presidential CNG Initiative.
He further disclosed that NNPC Retail commissioned a solar-powered smart energy station in Abuja in September. The facility offers petrol, liquefied petroleum gas, CNG and electric-vehicle charging services.
Between 50 and 70 additional stations of this type were expected to be established within six months, he said.
On the rehabilitation of state-owned refineries, Ugochinyere said technical partners had assessed the Port Harcourt and Warri facilities as part of efforts to restore reliable and commercially viable operations.
However, the information presented to the committee showed that the Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna refineries had yet to resume production as of July 2026, underscoring the continuing challenges facing Nigeria’s state-owned refining assets despite repeated rehabilitation efforts.
Lawmakers are also considering proposed amendments to the Petroleum Industry Act 2021. Ugochinyere said the proposed changes would strengthen domestic crude-supply arrangements, regulate petroleum-product imports, safeguard product quality and improve oversight of pricing and competition.
The amendments are also expected to address pipeline security and encourage the expansion of CNG and LPG infrastructure.
Separately, the committee granted its subcommittee investigating NIPCO Plc an additional 14 days to complete its work, saying the extension would allow a more comprehensive examination of the issues.
Ugochinyere said lawmakers would continue monitoring the implementation of the committee’s nine-pillar roadmap for downstream energy security. The framework covers domestic crude supply, strategic reserves, product-quality monitoring, pipeline protection and transparent pricing.
“The Renewed Hope downstream sector agenda is working,” he said.
The committee’s dismissal of the petition reflects its finding that the allegations were not substantiated by the evidence presented during its proceedings. The decision is not, in itself, a judicial ruling on the allegations, while the committee’s broader review signals continued legislative attention to the implementation of petroleum-sector reforms.