The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee has issued a final ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), summoning its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashiru Bayo Ojulari, to appear before the committee within 10 working days to explain audit discrepancies amounting to N210 trillion.
During its Thursday session, the committee, led by Senator Aliyu Wadada, expressed strong displeasure after NNPCL failed to honor the invitation to clarify inconsistencies in its financial reports from 2017 to 2023. Instead, the company submitted a letter seeking a two-month extension to collate relevant documents, which was read aloud by the committee’s clerk.
Wadada and committee members firmly rejected the request, stressing that no further delays would be entertained. A new hearing date has been scheduled for Thursday, July 10, 2025.
“This committee finds it completely unacceptable that the NNPCL CEO and his team failed to appear before us today to address audit discrepancies amounting to over N210 trillion,” Senator Aliyu Wadada stated.
“The excuse that top management is away on a retreat, and that they require two more months to collate documents, is not only insufficient but disrespectful to the Nigerian people.
“These discrepancies are already in the public domain through their audited financial statements. We are not interested in any contradictory submissions.
“The GCEO must appear in person by July 10 or we will invoke the full constitutional powers of the National Assembly, including issuing a warrant of arrest Wadada warned.
Representatives from prominent anti-graft and security agencies, including the EFCC, ICPC, NFIU, and DSS, attended the hearing to emphasize the gravity of the investigation. The committee remained firm that GCEO Ojulari’s personal appearance was non-negotiable, cautioning that non-compliance could lead to the Senate exercising its constitutional authority, including issuing an arrest warrant. Lawmakers warned that further non-cooperation would be viewed as disregard for the Senate, prompting full legislative action.
In its response, NNPCL cited the unavailability of top executives and board members due to a corporate strategy session, requesting more time to gather the required documents.
The Senate’s Committee on Public Accounts recently launched an investigation into NNPCL’s audited financial reports, uncovering substantial discrepancies totaling N210 trillion. The committee highlighted that N103 trillion was recorded as accrued expenses, while N107 trillion was listed as receivables, bringing the total amount under scrutiny to N210 trillion.
Senator Wadada expressed skepticism over NNPCL’s claim that reconciliation was pending, questioning, “If the reconciliation wasn’t complete, why did they approve the audited statement now publicly available, especially with the planned Initial Public Offer (IPO)?”
NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, clarified that the N107 trillion figure arose from Joint Venture (JV) cash calls, comprising requests from JV partners and NNPCL payments awaiting reconciliation due to governance delays. He emphasized that these figures represented opposing sides of the same transaction, expected to offset each other post-reconciliation.
Despite Segun’s explanation, Senator Wadada instructed NNPCL to provide written responses to a detailed questionnaire within one week, culminating in Thursday’s meeting.
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