Refund #210trn Unaccounted Funds To Federation Account, Senate Tells NNPCL
The Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) has once again taken a hard stance against the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the alleged disappearance of N210 trillion from the company’s accounts.
At a resumed investigative hearing on Tuesday, the committee, chaired by **Senator Ahmed Wadada, expressed dissatisfaction with the explanations provided by NNPCL in response to 19 audit queries raised months earlier.
The session was marked by tension after senators discovered that the NNPCL Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, failed to appear before the panel, sending a delegation instead.
Senator Wadada, visibly displeased, condemned the absence of top NNPCL officials despite an earlier agreement that they would personally attend the hearing.
“At our last meeting with the management of NNPC, we agreed that they would appear before the committee today to respond to questions on their 2017 to 2023 Annual Financial Statements, specifically, the 19 questions we had earlier raised,” Wadada said.
“Today, November 11, 2025, was a date chosen by NNPC. May I know if NNPC is here? Any member of the management present? Distinguished colleagues, it is rather unfortunate that none of the officials of NNPC are here, on a date they themselves chose,” he lamented.
Wadada described the management’s absence as “a show of disrespect for legislative oversight”, stressing that the Senate was duty-bound to ensure accountability in the management of public funds.
Despite the absence of NNPCL representatives, the committee proceeded to review the company’s written responses to the earlier queries. According to Wadada, the documents raised even more questions than they answered.
He noted that between 2017 and 2023, the NNPCL recorded a combined N210 trillion in financial discrepancies, N103 trillion in accrued expenses and N107 trillion in receivables.
“These figures are alarming and raise serious red flags,” he said. “How can a company claim N103 trillion in expenses and N107 trillion in receivables within that period? Nigerians deserve to know what happened to these funds.”
The committee also faulted the NNPCL and its subsidiary, the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), for allegedly applying subsidy charges on crude oil and refined products in violation of Nigerian laws.
“Between 2017 and 2021, NAPIMS charged a subsidy on crude oil, which is illegal,” the committee stated. “There is nowhere in our laws where a subsidy is allowed on crude. At the same time, NNPC charged a subsidy on refined petroleum products such as kerosene, diesel, and petrol. This practice is both illegal and unacceptable.”
The senators cited specific sections of the NNPC’s audited financial statements, pages 41.8, 38.9, and 39.9 for NAPIMS, and note 8.1 on pages 56 to 59 for NNPC, where these questionable entries were recorded.
Further controversy arose over NNPCL’s claim of paying N103 trillion in cash calls to joint venture partners in 2023 alone, despite only generating N24 trillion in crude revenue between 2017 and 2022.
Wadada reminded the committee that cash call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under the Buhari administration, describing the NNPCL’s figures as “unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
“How can NNPC claim to have paid N103 trillion in one year when it only generated N24 trillion in revenue over five years? Where did NNPC get that money?” he asked. “As far as this committee is concerned, that figure must be investigated thoroughly and, if found unjustified, the N103 trillion must be returned to the Treasury.”
Following the deliberations, the Senate Committee directed that NNPCL’s Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, must personally lead his management team to the next hearing to address the unresolved issues.
“The public has been waiting for this,” Wadada noted. “Even though we cannot conclude today in the absence of NNPC officials, the committee must share our findings based on the responses already submitted. Accountability cannot be compromised.”
No date has yet been fixed for the next appearance of the NNPCL management.
