The Nigerian Senate has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) a one-week deadline to explain the financial discrepancies and irregularities amounting to over N210 trillion in its audited statements covering the years 2017 to 2023.
This decision came during a heated session of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts held on Wednesday.
NNPCLโs Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, along with other top executives, appeared before the committee to address concerns over what lawmakers described as alarming irregularities.
The issues centered on inflated figures listed under accrued expenses and receivables in the companyโs financial documents.
Committee Chairman Senator Aliyu Wadada condemned the inconsistencies labelling them as unacceptable and emphasized the Senateโs resolve to use its full oversight authority.
He highlighted that the N210tn discrepancy was too huge an amount to be dismissed as clerical errors, calling it a serious breach of financial transparency and integrity.
Specific concerns were raised about N103tn in accrued expenses, which included N600bn in retention fees and unspecified legal and auditor costs, all submitted without contracts or supporting documentation.
Speaking further, Wadada questioned the credibility of such figures, throwing a rather rhetorical question to the house:
โHow do you quote N600bn in retention fees with no contract to back it up?โ
Further scrutiny was placed on another N103tn categorized as receivables, which also lacked adequate explanation.
The Senate was particularly alarmed when NNPCL presented a revised financial document at the last minute, containing conflicting data compared to the official audited reports, a move lawmakers described as โdeeply troubling.โ
Wadada warned that finalizing and publishing such financials amid ongoing internal reconciliations could damage Nigeriaโs global financial reputation, especially with NNPCL’s planned Initial Public Offering (IPO).
The Senate issued 11 critical questions to the company, demanding detailed written responses within one week, (7 days).
In a surprising revelation, the Senate noted that from 2017 to 2021, NNPCLโs subsidiary, NAPIMS, declared N9tn in profit, while NNPCL itself reported a loss of N16bn. This inconsistency raised further doubts about the companyโs financial practices.
Wadada affirmed that the investigation aims to promote fiscal discipline, not political persecution, aligning with President Bola Tinubuโs Renewed Hope Agenda focused on transparency and accountability.
What is your take on the irregularities and discrepancies seen so far?
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