The Forum for Energy Accountability (FEA) has criticised what it described as the “incessant and overlapping” investigations launched by the House of Representatives into the operations of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

The group warned that the trend risks damaging investor confidence in the country’s oil and gas sector.

In a statement issued on Friday, the group’s president, Comrade Ebikeme Jonathan-Ogula, said recent actions by several House committees have created an “atmosphere of regulatory siege” around the national oil company.

While acknowledging the constitutional role of legislative oversight, he argued that the frequency and breadth of the current probes appear “counterproductive and disruptive to ongoing sector reforms.”

“NNPCL, like any public-interest commercial entity, must be accountable.

But accountability loses meaning when it becomes indistinguishable from harassment. What we have witnessed in the last few weeks is a wave of overlapping summons that does not serve transparency, does not aid reform, and certainly does not inspire investor confidence at a very delicate moment for Nigeria’s hydrocarbons sector,” he said.

Jonathan-Ogula noted that the petroleum industry is still adjusting to major shifts — including the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), global energy transition pressures, and broader economic reforms aimed at stabilising foreign exchange and attracting capital inflows.

In such a climate, he warned, uncertainty in the regulatory environment “sends the wrong signal” to international partners evaluating long-term commitments in upstream, midstream and gas development.

He expressed concern that multiple committees are simultaneously probing crude sales, joint venture operations, frontier exploration, external financing, and governance processes, describing the overlap as unnecessary duplication that fuels speculation even when many issues are already subject to statutory audits.

“Introducing legislative unpredictability, where NNPCL executives are repeatedly summoned for hearings that yield no new findings, only deepens the perception of instability,” he said.

The group urged the House leadership to consolidate related inquiries, adhere to clearer procedural timelines, and work more closely with regulatory bodies such as the NUPRC and NMDPRA to avoid conflicts with ongoing reviews.

“This scattershot approach to oversight does not strengthen institutions. It weakens them,” Jonathan-Ogula added.

Calling for a more “strategic, coordinated and evidence-based” model of legislative scrutiny, he warned: “Nigeria needs consistent signals, not contradictory ones, if the sector is to attract the scale of capital required for energy transition, gas development and national revenue growth.”