By The Ameh News
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has raised serious concerns over the alleged non-accountability of ₦200 trillion in the financial records of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd). The development was brought to light during a recent public hearing, as reported by The Ameh News and monitored on Channel News.
Committee Chairman, Senator Aliyu Wadada, expressed deep frustration over NNPC’s failure to honour several invitations extended to the company to explain inconsistencies in its financial records. According to him, the situation has reached an alarming scale, warranting a national response.
“We are talking about over ₦200 trillion that is not properly accounted for. This is not a figure to be overlooked or treated with indifference,” Senator Wadada said during the televised hearing.
The Senate’s inquiry was prompted by findings from the Office of the Auditor General of the Federation, which flagged multiple instances of incomplete or unclear financial reconciliations in NNPC’s annual reports. Of particular concern were remittances to the Federation Account and issues surrounding subsidy claims and crude oil revenue management.
Despite the gravity of the situation, Senator Wadada disclosed that the NNPC has repeatedly failed to present itself before the committee for questioning, a development the lawmakers described as a deliberate evasion of oversight.
“We cannot accept this kind of behavior from a public company. NNPC is no longer just a state enterprise; it is now a limited liability company that must abide by transparency and accountability standards,” he said.
The committee has now threatened to escalate the issue to the full Senate and is demanding a full forensic audit of NNPC’s finances. The audit is expected to cover revenue inflows, subsidy payments, operational expenditures, and liabilities from the point of its transition to a limited liability company in July 2022.
This isn’t the first time NNPC has come under scrutiny. Over the years, both local and international auditors have raised red flags over the corporation’s financial opacity. However, the current ₦200 trillion figure marks one of the most significant discrepancies ever flagged by the legislature.
Experts say this development raises serious concerns about Nigeria’s fiscal discipline and the real impact of the ongoing reforms in the oil and gas sector. The NNPC, which was restructured to operate commercially under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), is expected to function with increased transparency. But the Senate’s findings suggest that accountability issues may still persist under the new framework.
Civil society organizations and policy analysts are now calling on the federal government to take urgent action to enforce accountability and protect national resources.
“You cannot build a trillion-dollar economy on a foundation riddled with opacity and fiscal mismanagement,” said one analyst reacting to the development.
The Senate Committee has vowed to pursue the matter to its logical conclusion and insists that NNPC must provide a comprehensive breakdown of its finances without further delay.
Story monitored by The Ameh News from Channel News.
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