The Senate has disclosed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has requested additional time to address audit concerns involving over N210 trillion in unaccounted funds from its financial statements covering 2017 to 2023.
Chairman of the Senate Public Accounts Committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), made this known after Tuesday’s plenary session in Abuja. He said the NNPCL management had earlier written to the committee during the National Assembly recess, asking for an extension to properly compile data and prepare detailed responses to the audit queries raised by the Auditor-General of the Federation.
According to Wadada, the committee granted the extension, and the company has now submitted its responses to all 19 audit queries. However, he clarified that the committee has yet to review the documents.
“We’ve received the responses from NNPCL, but the committee hasn’t gone through them. Once the review is completed, Nigerians will be briefed,” Wadada assured.
The period under review includes NNPCL’s transition from a state-owned corporation to a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). The probe, which began earlier this year, is considered one of the Senate’s most significant accountability efforts, focusing on transparency in the operations of the national oil company.
Wadada further revealed that the committee is also investigating production sharing contracts (PSCs) and crude oil cost structures to clarify how revenues are divided among the NNPCL, international oil companies, and the federal government.
He added that the committee was concerned about reports indicating that NNPC Retail, a subsidiary of the company, had declared a loss despite its prominent role in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector.
“It’s difficult to understand how NNPC Retail could record a loss. We’ll ask for explanations when the company appears before us,” he said.
The Public Accounts Committee has promised a transparent review process and pledged to make its findings public once the investigation is concluded.
Wadada reaffirmed the Senate’s commitment to accountability, saying the committee will “do justice to the matter” and ensure that any inconsistencies uncovered in NNPCL’s financial records are properly addressed.
