*The Nigerian Senate Committee on Public Accounts raises the alarm over the alleged absence of detailed records in the audited financial statements of NNPC Limited to justify legal, auditing fees, and contradictions in the company’s receivables reportedly worth over N210 trillion from 2017 to 2023

Isola Moses | 绿帽献妻

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts in the National Assembly (NASS), Abuja, FCT, has raised the alarm over alleged discrepancies involving trillions of Naira in the audited financial statements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

绿帽献妻 reports Senator Aliyu Wadada, Chairman of the Senate Committee, who noted this in the Red Chamber, described the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome.

Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, Group CEO of NNPC Limited

The Committee made the observation, when Adedapo Segun, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of NNPCL, appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, during an investigative session Wednesday, June 18, 2025.

Wadada: There are contradictions in receivables from 2017 to 2023

The Senate noted and flagged the absence of detailed records justifying massive legal and auditing fees as well as contradictions in receivables reportedly worth over N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.

The investigative panel also quipped: 鈥淟egal fees were accrued without any explanation or documentation regarding the legal services rendered.

“The auditors鈥� fees raise similar questions. There are no clear justifications. “Everything we鈥檝e seen and heard from the audited financial statements is troubling.鈥�

Wadada, however, emphasised that the Committee’s main concern is with the receivables.

The Federal lawmaker further said: 鈥淭rillions of Naira are in question, and the new document they presented this afternoon doesn鈥檛 match what鈥檚 already in their audited report.

“It鈥檚 completely independent and contradictory.”

According to him, the concerns of the Committee on Public Accounts stemmed directly from the analysis of NNPCL鈥檚 audited financial statements spanning 2017 to 2023, not from speculation.

The Committee later handed over a list of 11 queries to the NNPCL鈥檚 finance team for a week to return to the Senate Committee with answers.

N210 trillion 鈥榤issing funds鈥� are JV operators, JV cash call payments 鈭扖FO

Further explaining the claims of missing N210 trillion in the company鈥檚 audited financial statements, Segun, CFO of NNPC Limited explained why there is a missing huge sum of money audited financial statement spanning from 2017 to 2023.

According to the CFO, the missing funds are cash calls requested by Joint Venture (JV) partners and settlement to the JVs.

He also explained: 鈥淭he N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time.

鈥淭hat is why you see the description reflecting those two items would be washed out because they are two sides of the same transaction, which is the cash calls by JV partners and the settlement by NNPCL.鈥�

Meanwhile, Senator has warned that the matter would not be swept under the carpet, particularly in respect of how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, under its Renewed Hope agenda, seeks transparency and accountability in public finance in Nigeria.