The Nigerian Senate has issued a final warning to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), giving it 10 working days to explain why ₦210 trillion is unaccounted for in its financial records.
This decision came from the Senate Committee on Public Accounts during a meeting on Thursday. The committee is led by Senator Aliyu Wadada. They were disappointed that the head of NNPCL, Bashiru Bayo Ojulari, failed to show up and explain the financial issues found in the company’s audit reports from 2017 to 2023.
Instead of attending the hearing, NNPCL sent a letter asking for two more months to gather necessary documents. The letter was read by the committee clerk.
Senator Wadada and others rejected the excuse. They said there would be no more delays and set a new deadline for Thursday, July 10, 2025. The committee said Ojulari must appear in person.
Senator Wadada said it was disrespectful for NNPCL to claim that its top officials were unavailable because of a retreat. He stressed that the audit issues were already public and the committee would not accept any new explanations that don’t match the audited records.
He warned that if Ojulari fails to appear on July 10, the Senate could use its legal powers to force him to attend, including issuing an arrest warrant.
Officers from top anti-corruption and security agencies like EFCC, ICPC, NFIU, and DSS were present during the Senate hearing. This showed the importance of the issue.
The committee made it clear that Ojulari must show up in person. If not, the Senate will treat it as disrespect to its authority and take strong action.
In the letter sent to the Senate, NNPCL explained that its top officials were at a retreat and said they needed more time to prepare the documents. But the Senate refused this explanation.
The investigation into the ₦210 trillion discrepancy was first reported by The SUN newspaper. The Senate committee had launched the probe after finding the errors in NNPCL’s audit reports.
Senator Wadada said independent auditors had been brought in to help review the documents. He explained that the issues were found in the company’s published audit records, and those are the only documents the Senate would accept.
Out of the ₦210 trillion in question, ₦103 trillion was listed as expenses, and ₦107 trillion as money expected to be received.
Wadada also criticized NNPCL for claiming it hadn’t finished reviewing the figures. He asked why the company approved the reports if they weren’t final, especially since NNPCL plans to sell shares publicly through an IPO.
NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, explained that the ₦107 trillion came from money owed to and paid by joint venture partners. He said the figures would cancel each other out once everything was reconciled.
Even with this explanation, Senator Wadada said NNPCL must answer detailed questions in writing. They were told to send their replies within one week, which led to Thursday’s Senate meeting.
