Audit query: Senate fumes over NNPC’s absence

• gives 10 days ultimatum

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday, gave the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) ten days  to appear before it to defend issues raised over its audited financial statements spanning 2017 to 2023.

The Senate is demanding explanations from NNPC over the financial discrepancies totalling over ₦210 trillion.

ALSO READ: Democracy day speech: Dickson lacks credibility to query Tinubu — Sunny-Goli

At the last sitting held on June 18, the lawmakers specifically raised concern over the audited reports, citing accrued expenses of ₦ 103 trillion, which included ₦600bn in retention fees, unspecified legal fees, and auditor charges—all without any accompanying documentation or referenced contracts.

Before commencement of the Committee’s meeting on Thursday, Chairman of the Committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, asked if the representatives of the NNPC were present.

A Clerk to the Committee however told Senator Wadada that he was in custody of a letter from the oil corporation,  requesting for two weeks extension to present needed documents.

Aside the documents, the oil corporation premised its failure to attend the session with the Senate Committee on a management retreat holding outside Abuja.

The letter read in part:”We refer to a letter on the subject dated June 24, 2025 (copy attached). We thank the  Public Accounts Committee for the opportunity to engage and for allowing NNPC Limited to provide clarifications on the issues raised in the referenced letter.

“Having carefully reviewed your request, we kindly seek your consideration to reschedule the engagement for a period of two months from now. This is to enable us to collate the requested information and documentation. “Furthermore, members of the Board and the senior management team of NNPC Limited are currently away on a retreat, making it difficult to attend the rescheduled session slated for Thursday, June 26, 2025.

“While appreciating the importance of this engagement and the opportunity provided, we wish to reassure you of our commitment to the success of this exercise.

“Please accept the assurances of our highest regards.”

Senator Wadada who dismissed the excuses stated in the letter as unacceptable, declared that the Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Bayo Ojulari must lead other members of his management team to the Committee meeting on July 10.

He said:”Thank you very much, Mr. Director Clark, distinguished colleagues, and respected audience.

“You’ve all heard the content of the letter from NNPC.  First and foremost, this committee is not expecting documents from NNPC today, but rather answers to the 11 questions we issued the last time they appeared before us.

“Second, for a corporate body like NNPC to request two months to respond to queries originating from their own audited books is, in our view, unacceptable.

“Accordingly, this committee is giving NNPC,  10 working days from today to appear before us with answers to the questions raised. This means that by the 10th of July 2025, NNPC must respond. “If they fail to do so, the committee will be left with no option but to invoke and assert all constitutional powers available to us as a Senate committee.

“Failure to comply will be considered contempt of the Senate.

The Nigerian public is watching and expecting answers from us—this is about public funds, and we are here as their representatives to ensure accountability.”

The Senate also “note that the external auditors of NNPC are not present today.“