Senate Rejects NNPCL’s Explanation Over ?210 Trillion Unaccounted Funds

The Senate has dismissed the explanations offered by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the ?210 trillion discrepancy discovered in its financial records, insisting that the funds must be refunded to the Federation Account.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, reached the decision after NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, failed to appear before lawmakers on Tuesday for a clarification session at the National Assembly.

The probe, ongoing for several months, followed revelations from the company’s audited financial statements (2017–2023), which showed ?103 trillion in accrued expenses and ?107 trillion in receivables—figures the committee said were neither transparent nor reconcilable.

Wadada described NNPCL’s responses to 19 audit queries as “contradictory and unsatisfactory,” questioning how the firm could claim to have paid ?103 trillion in joint venture (JV) Cash Calls in 2023 when it reportedly earned only ?24 trillion in crude oil revenue between 2017 and 2022.

“Cash Call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the Buhari administration. How can NNPCL claim to have paid ?103 trillion in one year? Where did that money come from?” Wadada asked.

He declared the figures “unjustifiable and unacceptable,” adding that the ?103 trillion must be returned to the national treasury.

The committee also faulted NNPCL’s explanation regarding the ?107 trillion receivables—approximately $117 billion—saying the firm’s account conflicted with its own documentation.

Wadada warned that if the current management of NNPCL cannot provide satisfactory answers, the committee will subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS to explain the missing funds.

“It is better for them to admit challenges in reconciling the accounts than to mislead the Senate with contradictory claims,” he added.