Senate Gives NNPCL 21 Days To Clarify ₦210 Trillion Financial Irregularities

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) a 21-day deadline to explain financial discrepancies amounting to ₦210 trillion.

This directive was issued after the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Bayo Ojulari, appeared before the committee on Tuesday.

Ojulari, who has been in office for just over three months, asked for more time to thoroughly review the company’s audited financial records from 2017 to 2023.

“I have been in office for barely 100 days and I need time to fully understand the issues. Given the explanation I’ve heard today, my perspective has changed,” the NNPCL chief told the senators.

“I need to carry out further internal review and reconciliation to provide the answers the committee requires.”

He added that a dedicated team would be formed to handle the committee’s queries.

The Senate committee flagged ₦103 trillion in liabilities and ₦107 trillion in assets, saying the figures were alarming and lacked proper documentation.

The Committee Chairman Senator Aliyu Wadada described the figures as “mind-boggling” and said they raised serious concerns.

“The amount is mind-boggling. The liability figure cannot be substantiated and is therefore not acceptable to this committee. Even the receivables making up the asset component cannot be verified,” he said.

Wadada emphasized that the ₦210 trillion in question came directly from NNPCL’s audited statements and that the company must return with evidence to justify both sides of its balance sheet.

Other lawmakers criticized NNPCL’s approach to the issue, saying the company had not treated the committee’s summons seriously enough.

They also questioned why the CEO seemed unfamiliar with the audit concerns, even though NNPCL had previously sent representatives to the hearings.

Despite these frustrations, the committee agreed to give NNPCL 21 more days to return with detailed, reconciled information.

KanyiDaily recalls that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recently arrested top NNPCL officials over alleged fraud worth $7.2 billion.