NGOs, Others Petition NUPRC Over Gas Flaring, Demand $270m Penalty

Akwa Ibom oil-bearing communities in Esit Eket, Eket, Ibeno, Onna, Mbo, Mkpat Enin, and Ikot Abasi Local Government Areas have expressed concern over the devastating impacts of oil and gas exploration, lamenting the attendant deaths and other life-threatening ailments afflicting residents.
According to community leaders and stakeholders, gas flaring and other pollutants arising from the extractive activities of oil firms operating in the areas have caused respiratory issues, barrenness, early menopause in women, and infertility among men.
Consequently, a coalition of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), civil society organisations (CSOs), and other partners has petitioned the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), threatening a lawsuit over the alleged non-payment of gas flaring remediation funds amounting to $270 million to Akwa Ibom host communities.
The petition, addressed to the NUPRC Chief Executive on behalf of the communities by the law firm Liberty Gate Chambers (LGC), Eket LGA, is entitled: “Demand for Payment of the Sum of $270 Million USD Being Outstanding Gas Flare Penalty to Host Communities in Akwa Ibom State.”
In the petition, the signatories—including the Network Advancement Programme for Poverty and Disaster Risk Reduction (NAPPDRR), Ibom Peer Foundation (IPF), Policy Alert (PA), Linc Green Climate Initiative (LGCI), YEAC Nigeria, and Community Right Education Advancement Pathway Initiative (CREAPI)—argued that extractive activities in the affected locations have not been conducted in line with international best practices.
A communiqué issued at the end of a stakeholders’ meeting on “Strengthening Extractive Governance and Accountability in Nigeria,” organised by NAPPDRR and partners in Eket LGA, with the theme “Executive Order on All Oil and Gas Revenue to the Federation Account: Legal and Constitutional Context of the Reform on the HostCom,” called on the federal government to take swift remedial measures to safeguard lives, as well as agricultural and aquatic ecosystems.
The Executive Director of NAPPDRR, Hon. Emem Edoho, who convened the forum with other partners, signed the communiqué, urging the federal government to direct relevant agencies to release the funds in order to alleviate the suffering of host community residents.
“The meeting aimed to sensitise local community actors and other stakeholders in oil- and gas-producing communities in Akwa Ibom State on the overarching implications of Executive Order 9, signed and gazetted by President Bola Tinubu on February 16, 2026.
“It also examined what this means in terms of development, the environment, and social well-being. This is why we are galvanising their voices to demand the unlocking of gas flare penalties for environmental remediation in host communities, as well as greater accountability and transparency in resource receipts generated.
“Other issues raised at the meeting relate to revenue leakages in the collection of oil and gas revenues, and the reasons behind billions of dollars and trillions of naira in unremitted and unaccounted funds that should accrue to the federating units.
“The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has historically operated with weak financial accountability—oil proceeds are frequently retained and spent before remittance to the Federation Account, with opaque operational expenditures and deductions.
“Federation allocations are treated as residual transfers rather than first-line revenue, with limited public scrutiny of cost structures and retained earnings.
“The key causes of these unremitted funds and lack of accountability are linked to government-backed initiatives, such as infrastructure financing arrangements, which allow companies to invest in public projects in exchange for tax credits,” the communiqué stated.
The forum also noted provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which allow NNPC Ltd to retain 30% of profit oil and profit gas for management fees, and another 30% for the Frontier Exploration Fund. It further highlighted subsidy costs which, although officially removed by the federal government, are allegedly still being funded, thereby enabling NNPCL to tamper with revenues due to the Federation without accountability.
The communiqué also criticised “the recent writing-off of US$1.42 billion and ₦5.57 trillion in NNPCL debt owed to the Federation” as an abuse of power by the President.
“The debt is owed to the Federation, not the federal government. There was no consultation with other tiers of government before the President unilaterally took that decision.
“Whether the Midstream and Downstream Gas Infrastructure Fund (MDGIF) or the Environmental Remediation Fund (ERF), neither constitutes revenue for the federal government or the Federation, as Sections 52(7) and 104(4) of the PIA clearly stipulate the utilisation of gas flare funds.
“Sections 277, 297, and 302 of the PIA have introduced changes to the gas flare penalty regime. Gas flare penalties collected by NUPRC on behalf of the Federation prior to the implementation of the PIA will no longer constitute Federation revenue.
“Gas flare penalties are not listed as income from petroleum operations under Chapter 3 (Sections 65–119) of the Nigerian Tax Act (NTA). The current policy shift to treat gas flare penalties as a revenue source for government undermines Nigeria’s climate commitments, creates incentives for continued gas flaring, and weakens environmental accountability,” the communiqué stressed.
The conferees therefore advocated that “all oil revenues must first be paid into the Federation Account,” and called for legislative amendments to the PIA to remove the Frontier Exploration Fund, profit oil, and profit gas as revenue streams for NNPCL.
“Operational spending by the national oil company should occur only after remittance. The purpose is to restore constitutional revenue flow, improve fiscal transparency, and reduce discretionary spending of oil proceeds.
“This reasserts the principle that natural resource revenues belong first to the Federation. The government should treat gas flare penalties as environmental deterrence tools—sanctions to prevent gas flaring—rather than as revenue sources.
“Penalties should drive behavioural change, not become fiscal revenue streams. Gas flare penalties should be removed as a revenue source for the MDGIF by amending Section 52(7) of the PIA.
“A clause should be inserted in Section 104 directing that all gas flare penalties collected be paid directly into the accounts of Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDTs) by the settlors responsible for the flaring.
“The arrears of gas flare payments due to host communities across the Niger Delta from 2021 to 2025 should be released to all HCDTs in accordance with payments made by their settlors. Penalties should drive behavioural change—not become fiscal revenue streams,” the petitioners added.