The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has provided a written explanation to the Senate Committee on Public Accounts regarding the alleged N210 trillion unaccounted for in its audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023.
Despite being invited, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Bayo Ojulari, did not appear before the committee but instead sent a letter detailing how the money was allegedly spent.
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The committee, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, the senator for Nasarawa West Senatorial District, rejected the written explanation and insisted that the NNPCL leadership must appear in person.
NNPCL’s explanations
Although the letter was not made available to reporters, Mr Wadada disclosed that NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion was spent as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion was recorded as receivables.
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“NNPC claimed ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables, amounting to ₦210 trillion. On question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables — equivalent to about $117 billion — contradicts available facts and evidence provided by NNPC itself. The committee is duty-bound to reject this,” he said.
On the ₦103 trillion accrued expenses, NNPCL reportedly stated that the amount was paid in cash to joint ventures in 2023. The committee chair questioned how such payments could have been made in cash when that practice was abolished during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
“Cash call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the Buhari administration. How can NNPC claim to have paid ₦103 trillion in one year, when it only generated ₦24 trillion in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?
“As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable. The ₦103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury. This will be concluded when NNPC appears before us,” he said.
Concerns over receivables
Mr Wadada rejected NNPCL’s explanation for the ₦107 trillion receivables, which the company partly attributed to funds held in defunct banks.
He argued that no specific banks or amounts were identified, describing the submission as lacking transparency.
“NNPC claims of ₦107 trillion as receivables, part of which they said was held in defunct banks. However, no bank or amount was named. This lack of transparency is unacceptable. By the time you combine both figures, ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion, NNPC must account for ₦210 trillion,” he added.
He warned that the committee would summon former NNPCL and NAPIMS officials if the current management continues to provide unclear explanations.
“If the present management of NNPC is finding it difficult to provide acceptable answers, it is better that they say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPC and NAPIMS. NAPIMS, by law, is a department under NNPCL and cannot maintain an independent account. Yet, NAPIMS has been operating as if it were a separate entity”, he stressed.
The committee chairperson expressed frustration at NNPCL’s repeated failure to appear before the committee and directed that the GCEO must attend the next sitting in person.
“At any point this committee invites NNPC, the chief executive must appear in person. Being out of the country will no longer be accepted as an excuse. The next invitation will require the GCEO’s physical presence,” Mr Wadada added.
Background to the ‘missing’ N210trn
The dispute over the unaccounted ₦210 trillion has persisted between lawmakers and NNPCL since June, after the company’s audit report went viral.
At the time, the Senate committee gave the company a seven-day ultimatum to explain the discrepancy in its financial records. The company, however, failed to meet the deadline because its top officials were attending a retreat.
The failure of NNPCL to respond directly to the Senate’s queries has raised public suspicions about deep-rooted corruption in the company. Since June, the NNPC Ltd has been at the center of multiple corruption allegations.
Some analysts argued that the majority of the corruption was allegedly perpetrated by the former NNPCL Chief, Mele Kyari, who was sacked by President Bola Tinubu in April after several petitions against him. However, many others submitted that the problems go beyond one individual. Mr Kyari has denied any wrongdoing while anti-corruption agencies continue to probe the matter.
The company, now under Mr Ojulari, has yet to offer a clear defence regarding the alleged missing funds.
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