Senate Probes NNPCL Over ?210 Trillion Audit Query, Losses in Retail Subsidiary

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is once again under scrutiny as the Senate Committee on Public Accounts investigates alleged discrepancies amounting to ?210 trillion flagged in the company’s audited financial reports.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), disclosed this while briefing journalists at the National Assembly. He explained that although the NNPCL has submitted responses to all 19 audit queries, the committee is yet to critically review the documents.

“The management of NNPCL wrote to the committee during the recess, requesting more time to compile data and respond comprehensively to our questions. We granted the extension. They have now responded to all 19 queries, but the report is yet to be presented before the full committee,” Wadada said.

The queries reportedly relate to transparency issues in the national oil company’s financial records — a matter the Senate has vowed to investigate thoroughly.

The committee had earlier issued a three-week deadline to the NNPCL’s Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, on July 29, demanding explanations over the ?210 trillion flagged by auditors.

Senator Wadada assured Nigerians that the committee would conduct a fair and impartial review of NNPCL’s submissions before making any conclusions.

“I have refrained from making any public statement on the matter until the committee has formally reviewed the report. But as I promised earlier, we will do justice to the matter,” he stated.

Beyond the audit discrepancies, the Senate committee also raised fresh concerns about NNPCL’s operational practices, including its Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) and the financial performance of its retail subsidiary.

“We’ve been told NNPC Retail is running at a loss, which is very concerning. We find it hard to understand how a retail arm of the national oil company would operate at a loss in today’s market environment. This, too, will be examined,” Wadada revealed.

He assured Nigerians that once the committee concludes its review, the findings and recommendations will be made public in the interest of transparency and accountability.