The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has submitted responses to all 19 queries raised by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts over discrepancies amounting to N210 trillion in its audited financial statements.
The chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, disclosed this on Tuesday, saying the committee had received the company’s written replies and would soon present them for consideration.
“I can confirm that NNPCL has answered all 19 questions we asked. What remains now is to lay the responses before the committee for deliberation,” Wadada said.
The lawmaker, however, declined to disclose the content of the responses, saying the committee would examine them collectively before making any conclusions.
“We can’t preempt the outcome. The answers may be positive or negative, but the committee will decide after a full review,” he added.
Despite the recess, the panel reconvened on July 29 to meet with NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr Bayo Ojulari, who appeared for the first time after several postponed invitations.
During that meeting, Senator Wadada explained that the N210 trillion in question was split into N103 trillion in liabilities and N107 trillion in assets, both of which required clarification.
He stressed that the queries did not imply any theft or missing funds but were part of the committee’s constitutional responsibility to review public financial reports.
“These questions were drawn directly from NNPCL’s audited statements, not from the executive or judiciary. The committee never said the ₦210 trillion was stolen; we are simply carrying out an investigative review,” Wadada stated.
At the time, the committee had given NNPCL three weeks to provide written explanations to all the queries, after which the GCEO and other officials would be recalled for further clarification.
“I need time to dig deeper into the figures and understand the background to these questions,” Ojulari told the senators. “We will engage our external auditors and other relevant teams to ensure the responses are accurate and comprehensive.”
