The Senate has directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to refund ₦210 trillion in unaccounted funds to the Federation Account after dismissing the company’s explanations regarding the missing amount.
The order came after NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, failed to appear before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Tuesday. The committee had invited him to address 19 queries raised over discrepancies in the company’s financial records.
The committee, led by Senator Aliyu Wadada, has been probing NNPCL’s financial operations covering 2017 to 2023. Findings from the investigation revealed ₦103 trillion recorded as accrued expenses and another ₦107 trillion listed as receivables in the company’s audited financial statements — figures the Senate described as “contradictory and indefensible.”
Wadada expressed deep concern over what he called a lack of transparency and accountability in NNPCL’s handling of public funds.
“NNPC reported ₦103 trillion as accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion as receivables, totaling ₦210 trillion. In question eight, NNPC’s explanation on the ₦107 trillion receivables—about $117 billion—contradicts its own evidence. The committee, therefore, has no choice but to reject this,” he said.
He also questioned the credibility of the company’s claim of paying ₦103 trillion in cash calls to joint venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite generating only ₦24 trillion in crude oil revenue between 2017 and 2022.
“Cash Call arrangements were scrapped in 2016 under President Muhammadu Buhari. So how could NNPC claim to have paid ₦103 trillion in one year when it made only ₦24 trillion in five years? Where did that money come from?” Wadada queried.
Describing NNPCL’s explanations as unsatisfactory, the senator warned that the committee would summon former executives of both NNPCL and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) if the current management fails to provide credible clarifications.
“If the current leadership of NNPCL cannot give satisfactory answers, they should say so. The committee will not hesitate to subpoena former officials of NNPCL and NAPIMS,” Wadada added.
About the Author
