The Senate has ordered the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to refund ₦210 trillion in unaccounted funds to the Federation Account after rejecting the company’s explanations over the missing sum.
The directive followed the failure of NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, to appear before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday, despite being invited to clarify the company’s responses to 19 questions raised about its financial records.
The committee, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, has been investigating the firm’s financial operations from 2017 to 2023.
Its probe revealed ₦103 trillion listed as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables in NNPCL’s audited financial statements — figures the Senate described as “contradictory and unjustifiable.”
Wadada, while addressing the committee, said NNPCL’s claims raised serious concerns about transparency and accountability in the management of public funds.
“NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables -amounting to ₦210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables -equivalent to about $117 billion -contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” Wadada stated.
He further questioned how the company could have paid ₦103 trillion in cash calls to Joint Venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only ₦24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.
“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the President Muhammadu Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid ₦103trn in one year, when it only generated ₦24trn in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?” he queried.
Describing the company’s explanations as unsatisfactory, Wadada said the committee would not hesitate to summon former officials of NNPCL and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) if the current management fails to provide credible answers.
He added, “If the present management of NNPCL is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS.”