The Nigerian Senate has uncovered a staggering N210 trillion discrepancy in the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPC) audited accounts spanning seven years, from 2017 to 2023.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee, which disclosed this, summoned the immediate past management of the NNPC, including its former group chief executive officer, Mele Kyari,
former group financial officer Umar Ajiya and former group general manager of NAPIMS, Bala Wunti, to appear before the panel alongside the current management of NNPCL and the external auditors who prepared the financial statements.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ahmed Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West Senatorial District, disclosed this during a press briefing on Thursday in Abuja.
Wadada said the committee had been investigating the audited financial statements of the national oil company for the period under review, and that the exercise took time because lawmakers wanted to conduct a thorough examination.
“It is well known to the general public that this committee investigated the audited financial statement of NNPC from 2017 to 2023, and the investigation lingered not because the committee abandoned it, but because we wanted to do a very thorough job so that the outcome will not be ambiguous and will send the right signal to the public,” he said.
According to him, the legislative inquiry began in May 2025 after concerns were raised during the review of reports by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation for the years ending 2019 and 2020.
The committee subsequently reviewed the audited financial statements of NNPC prepared by external auditors and also examined the financial records of the former National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), now known as NNPC Upstream Investment Limited, for the same period.
Wadada revealed that the committee posed 19 questions to NNPC management, seeking clarification on inconsistencies observed in the financial records.
However, he said the company’s responses were not satisfactory.
One of the major issues raised by the committee was the N103 trillion in accrued expenses recorded in the company’s 2022 audited financial statements.
According to Wadada, the expenses were said to include retention, legal, and audit fees, yet no specific figures were assigned to the items in the accounts.
He explained that NNPC later stated that the amount represented cumulative spending by joint venture partners under the Joint Venture cash call arrangement.
However, the committee rejected the explanation, noting that the cash call regime had been abolished in 2016 and took effect from January 2017.
The committee also queried the N107 trillion recorded as sundry receivables as of December 2023. NNPC claimed that part of the amount was owed by some defunct banks and other entities, but lawmakers said the company failed to provide a detailed breakdown identifying the institutions responsible for the debts.
In addition, the committee observed an alleged duplication of subsidy deductions amounting to N3.8 trillion, which it said was deducted from crude oil proceeds in NAPIMS accounts and from petroleum product proceeds in NNPC books.
The panel further raised concerns over N5 trillion charged as direct production costs between 2017 and 2021, arguing that NNPC and NAPIMS do not directly produce crude oil.
Another issue highlighted was the N5.9 billion spent on incorporation expenses during the transition from NNPC to NNPCL, which the committee described as excessive.
Following these findings, the committee resolved that NNPCL must account for the combined N210 trillion arising from the unexplained accrued expenses and sundry receivables.
It also directed the company to refund all production costs charged against crude oil revenue within the period under review.
The committee further summoned the immediate past management of NNPC and NAPIMS, including Kyari, former chief financial officer Umar Ajiya and former group general manager of NAPIMS Bala Wunti, to appear before the panel alongside the current management of NNPCL and the external auditors who prepared the financial statements.
Wadada said the officials are expected to provide detailed explanations on how the alleged infractions occurred.
He added that the committee had also recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation conduct a forensic audit of NNPC’s financial statements from 2017 to 2023 in line with Section 85 of the 1999 Constitution.
Responding to questions from journalists, Wadada warned that the Senate would invoke its constitutional powers if the summoned officials fail to appear before the committee.
“Whoever this committee invites and refuses to come without satisfactory reasons, the needful will be done. We are empowered by the constitution and our rules of engagement here in the Senate,” he said.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to promoting transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s public resources and expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic reform agenda.