The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has rejected the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority’s (NMDPRA) explanation for conflicting petrol import figures and summoned the agency’s leadership, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) to clarify the discrepancies.
The decision followed a review of NEITI’s 2021–2023 Oil and Gas Industry Audit Report, which revealed substantial differences between the volumes of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), commonly known as petrol, reported by NMDPRA and NNPCL for 2022 and 2023.
NMDPRA reported that Nigeria imported 3.29 billion litres of petrol in 2022 and 6.02 billion litres in 2023. However, NNPCL’s records showed imports of 6.27 billion litres in 2022 and 3.88 billion litres in 2023.
The conflicting data prompted lawmakers to question the reliability of the figures submitted by both agencies and demand a detailed explanation.
At Wednesday’s committee session, NMDPRA’s Deputy Director, Uzoamaka Ugwu-Ojobe, who represented the agency’s chief executive, Rabiu Umar, maintained that the authority stood by its records. She added that efforts were being made to reconcile the differences.
Her explanation did not satisfy the lawmakers, who argued that the gaps were too significant to be dismissed as minor discrepancies.
Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, said the differences required serious attention and a clear account from the agencies involved.
Another committee member, Senator Dayo Faduyile of Ondo South, questioned the reliability of the conflicting records, while Senator Anietan Bassey of Akwa Ibom North-East called for a comprehensive investigation to establish what caused the inconsistencies.
Bassey also warned that inaccurate petroleum import records could undermine accountability and leave Nigerians bearing the consequences of possible irregularities.
Following the objections, the committee, chaired by Senator Hassan Dankwabo of Gombe North, resolved to invite the heads of NMDPRA, NNPCL and NEITI to a joint meeting.
The proposed meeting is expected to establish why the agencies reported different import volumes and determine whether the variations resulted from differences in data collection, reporting methods or other issues requiring further investigation.
The committee said it would seek a reconciliation of the figures to ensure greater accuracy and accountability in official records of Nigeria’s petroleum imports.
