…Auditor-General flags unremitted revenues, gas-flaring penalties, questionable spending
…Group gives President Tinubu seven days to act
SUN OCT 04 2026-theGBJournal| The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has called on President Bola Tinubu to order an urgent investigation into more than N94.4 billion in public funds reportedly diverted, unremitted, unaccounted for or irregularly spent by the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
SERAP’s demand is based on findings contained in the 2024 Volume 2 Annual Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation, published on August 7, 2026. The audit findings cover transactions and activities spanning periods between January 2023 and December 2024.
In a letter dated October 3 and signed by its Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, SERAP urged the President to direct the appropriate anti-corruption agencies to investigate the findings, prosecute anyone against whom sufficient admissible evidence is established, and recover and remit all public funds found to have been improperly withheld, diverted, misapplied or otherwise unaccounted for.
The organisation also asked the President to direct the MDGIF to submit and publish its audited financial statements for 2022, 2023 and 2024, and ensure that the statements are forwarded to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly, in line with the Auditor-General’s recommendations.
Where the N94.4bn comes from
According to SERAP’s account of the Auditor-General’s findings, the sums at issue involve petroleum-product revenues, natural-gas sales, gas-flaring penalties and other expenditures.
The largest items cited include N26.549 billion which the MDGIF reportedly failed to remit from the sale of petroleum products between January 2022 and December 2024.
The Auditor-General reportedly expressed concern that the money “may have been diverted” and recommended its recovery and remittance to the Treasury.
Another N12.480 billion in gas-flaring penalties for 2023 was reportedly not remitted and reported by the MDGIF. The audit also raised concerns over the failure to collect and promptly remit net revenue generated by NUPRC from gas flaring into the MDGIF account, as required by Section 52(8) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
The NUPRC was also reported to have failed to remit N38.610 billion in gas-flaring penalties collected and due to the MDGIF.
The Auditor-General warned that failure to remit such penalties creates “risks of shortages of funds for environmental remediation and potential civil crisis arising from the non-remediation of environmental hazards.”
The MDGIF was further reported to have failed to collect and account for N12.940 billion from 2024 natural-gas sales. Again, the Auditor-General reportedly expressed concern that the money “may have been diverted” and recommended recovery and remittance to the Treasury.
N3.5bn consultant payment questioned
The audit findings also raised questions about a N3.518 billion payment by the MDGIF to a consultant engaged to recover gas-flaring penalties.
SERAP said the engagement was made without the President’s approval and that, according to the Auditor-General, “there was no evidence of due process or due diligence in the engagement.”
The Auditor-General also reportedly expressed concern that the money may have been diverted.
Other expenditures cited include N261.852 million paid to Transaction Advisors despite, according to the audit finding, no evidence of work executed, as well as another N65.8 million payment to Transaction Advisors in August 2024 without due process.
The Auditor-General reportedly stated that the latter action “may have violated public procurement procedures” and recommended that the Executive Director of the MDGIF account for the expenditure.
SERAP: Every naira must be accounted for
SERAP said the audit findings raise broader questions about the transparency and effectiveness of the management of Nigeria’s petroleum revenues and gas-flaring penalties.
“There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave findings,” the organisation said, arguing that the issues affect billions of naira in public resources.
It added that the MDGIF and NUPRC should publish a detailed schedule showing the amounts due, collected, remitted and recovered; the dates of transactions; the institutions or officials responsible; and the accounts into which the funds were paid.
SERAP said: “Anyone found responsible should be appropriately sanctioned and prosecuted where sufficient admissible evidence is established, irrespective of status, position or institutional affiliation.”
It further stated: “Every naira identified in the Auditor-General’s report must be properly accounted for, and any oil funds found to have been diverted, misapplied, improperly spent or otherwise unaccounted for must be fully recovered and remitted to the Treasury.”
Seven-day deadline
SERAP has asked the government to act within seven days, warning that it may pursue legal and other lawful measures if its demands are not addressed.
“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter,” the organisation said. “If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions and other lawful measures to compel your government, the MDGIF, NUPRC and other relevant authorities to comply with your requests in the public interest.”
The organisation also pointed to President Tinubu’s dual role as President and Minister of Petroleum Resources, saying the circumstances make effective oversight of petroleum-sector revenues particularly important.
“These findings concern petroleum-sector institutions and revenues over which the President, as Minister of Petroleum Resources, has a particular responsibility to ensure effective oversight, transparency and accountability,” SERAP said.
Beyond the money: environmental and accountability questions
The controversy extends beyond the question of missing or unremitted funds.
A substantial portion of the sums identified relates to gas-flaring penalties, revenues that can have implications for environmental remediation. SERAP warned that failure to properly collect and remit such money could leave fewer resources available for addressing environmental hazards and protecting affected communities.
The organisation said the audit points to repeated weaknesses in basic financial and administrative controls, including failures to remit public revenues, inadequate documentation, payments without evidence of work performed, questionable procurement and consultancy arrangements, and the failure to publish audited financial statements.
SERAP argued that the failure to submit and publish MDGIF’s audited accounts for three consecutive years also weakens legislative oversight and public scrutiny of the fund’s financial management.
The organisation has therefore framed the matter not simply as a question of individual transactions, but as a broader test of transparency, financial controls and accountability in Nigeria’s petroleum sector.
It also cited constitutional provisions on the fight against corruption and abuse of power, as well as Nigeria’s obligations under the United Nations Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.
For now, the figures and transactions remain matters arising from the Auditor-General’s audit findings and SERAP’s subsequent call for investigation.
Any criminal liability or responsibility would have to be established through the appropriate investigative, administrative or judicial processes.
The central question now is whether the authorities will trace the funds identified in the audit, establish what happened to each naira, recover any money improperly withheld or spent, and determine whether anyone should face sanctions or prosecution.
At stake, SERAP insists, is not only N94.4 billion but the credibility of Nigeria’s system for collecting, accounting for and deploying revenues from its petroleum resources.
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