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NNPCL requests more time to respond to 19 audit queries spanning ₦210 trillion.
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Senate Public Accounts Committee reviews financial discrepancies from 2017–2023.
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Clarity sought on crude production costs, revenue split, and NNPC Retail losses
The Senate has revealed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) requested additional time to clarify 19 audit queries covering over ₦210 trillion in unaccounted funds from its 2017–2023 financial statements.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, which initially gave NNPCL’s CEO Engineer Bayo Ojulari three weeks in July to respond to the discrepancies flagged in the Auditor-General’s report, confirmed that the company has now submitted its responses.
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The committee has yet to fully scrutinise the documents.
Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), chairman of the committee, said, “While we were on recess, management of NNPCL wrote to the committee requesting an extension of time to enable them to compile data and respond comprehensively to the questions we raised and we granted that request.
They have since responded, and we now have answers to all 19 questions we sent to them. However, the report is yet to be presented before the committee. That is why, as chairman, I have refrained from making any public statement on the matter until it is properly laid before members. But let me assure you, as I promised earlier on behalf of the committee, we will do justice to the matter.”
The committee is also examining production sharing contracts, cost structures of crude production, and the reasons behind NNPC Retail declaring a loss, stressing that Nigerians deserve transparency on how revenue is allocated among the corporation, international oil companies, and the federal government.
The ongoing probe represents one of the most comprehensive financial scrutiny exercises of the 10th Senate, raising critical questions about accountability in Nigeria’s state-owned oil giant, which recently transitioned to a profit-driven commercial entity. Wadada assured that the findings will be communicated to the public once the review concludes.
