The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to order a probe of the over ₦94.4 billion in public funds allegedly diverted, unremitted or irregularly spent by the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
SERAP specifically said that President Tinubu, as Minister of Petroleum Resources, has particular responsibility for oversight of petroleum revenues.
It therefore demanded for the publication of a clear schedule showing amounts due, collected, remitted and recovered, with dates, responsible officials and accounts.
SERAP cited Sections 13, 14 and 15(5) of the 1999 Constitution on abolishing corrupt practices, and Nigeria’s obligations under the UN and AU anti-corruption conventions, adding that the allegations are contained in the 2024 (Volume 2) Annual Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation published August 7, 2026, covering January to December 2023 and ending December 31, 2024.
These were contained in a letter by the Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare dated October 3, 2026, urging Tinubu to direct anti-corruption agencies to probe the funds, prosecute anyone found culpable and recover all monies.
SERAP also urged President Tinubu to direct MDGIF to publish its audited financial statements for 2022, 2023 and 2024 and forward them to the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly as recommended by the Auditor-General.
It further said; “Anyone found responsible should be appropriately sanctioned and prosecuted where sufficient admissible evidence is established, irrespective of status”.
SERAP gave the President a seven-day ultimatum, warning that failure would trigger legal action.
It further said that the report of the Auditor-General’s report which was cited by the organization indicated that MDGIF failed to remit ₦26.549bn revenue from sale of petroleum products between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2024 — money the Auditor-General feared may have been diverted.
It also said; “MDGIF failed to remit and report ₦12.479bn in gas-flaring penalties for 2023, violating Section 52(8) of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
“MDGIF paid ₦3.517bn to a consultant to recover gas-flaring penalties without presidential approval and without due process.
“NUPRC failed to remit ₦38.610bn in gas-flaring penalties due to MDGIF.
“MDGIF failed to collect and account for ₦12.940bn revenue from 2024 natural gas sales.
“MDGIF spent ₦261.8m on Transaction Advisors with no evidence of job execution.
“MDGIF spent ₦65.8m to engage Transaction Advisors in August 2024 without due process.
The statement stated that the Auditor-General warned that failure to remit gas-flaring penalties risks shortage of funds for environmental remediation and potential civil crisis from non-remediation of hazards.
In the words of SERAP; “The failure to properly account for billions of naira undermines public confidence and creates serious risk that funds intended for environmental remediation may have been lost”.
