The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a three-week ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) to respond to a series of audit queries uncovering discrepancies totalling ₦210 trillion in its financial statements between 2017 and 2023.
At a tense hearing on Tuesday, the committee, chaired by Senator Ahmed Wadada (Nasarawa West), confronted NNPC’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, over 19 separate audit queries derived from the Auditor-General’s reports. The sum in question is split into ₦107 trillion in receivables and ₦103 trillion in liabilities. While the committee emphasized that the amount is not presumed stolen or missing, it stressed the urgent need for clear and comprehensive accounting.
“These are your numbers — drawn from your audited reports, not media speculations,” Wadada said. “Nobody is saying ₦210 trillion was stolen. But everything must be explained.”
Ojulari, who assumed office just over 100 days ago, apologized for previously missing committee invitations and requested four weeks to conduct a thorough review of the issues. Citing the complexity of the queries and the scale of national expectations, he said:
“I need to understand the issues myself so I can respond appropriately. This is coming in the midst of a huge national assignment. I will engage the external auditors and relevant groups to get the details properly reconciled.”
The committee, however, granted only three weeks for written responses and signaled that Ojulari and other top NNPC officials would be summoned again for a physical appearance and formal defence once those responses are submitted.
Senator Wadada clarified that the queries were not politically motivated, nor driven by any external branch of government:
“There is none out of the 18 or 19 questions that came from us, the executive, or judiciary. These were extracted from your audited financial statements by the Auditor-General. Our mandate is constitutional. This is about accountability.”
Other lawmakers echoed the chairman’s stance. Deputy Chairman, Senator Peter Nwebonyi, noted that the committee’s interest lies in protecting national resources:
“This is not about optics or scapegoating. This is about national interest. We need coherence — not contradictions — in how the nation’s oil wealth is reported.”
The committee also expressed concern over the absence of NNPC’s external auditors at the hearing, indicating future sessions will require their attendance to corroborate key figures.
Ojulari’s appearance comes amid mounting public concern over NNPC’s transparency and a broader call for reform in Nigeria’s oil revenue management. While the GCEO promised to get a team together to address the queries thoroughly, the Senate made it clear: the era of vague reporting is over.
“We’re not on a witch-hunt,” Senator Wadada concluded. “But the era of blurry figures and zero accountability is over. We expect answers — and soon.”
