By Nathaniel Zaccheaus, Abuja
The Senate, on Tuesday, rejected explanations tendered by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) over the alleged non-remittance of N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023, describing the figures presented by the national oil company as “contradictory, economically impossible, and unjustifiable.”
The upper chamber, through its Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada Ahmed (Nasarawa West), also threatened to summon former Group Managing Directors (GMDs) of the company should the current management fail to provide credible explanations.
The committee expressed displeasure that, despite selecting the hearing date itself, the NNPCL management failed to appear before the panel to clarify 19 audit queries raised against it by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, covering six years.
Senator Wadada, visibly angry at the company’s absence, declared that the Senate would no longer entertain written submissions from NNPCL.
He said the Group Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Bayo Ojulari, must appear in person to address the issues.
“Today, November 11, 2025, was a date chosen by NNPCL itself. Unfortunately, none of its officials deemed it necessary to show up,” Wadada said.
“The public has been waiting for this hearing. Though we cannot conclude without their appearance, Nigerians deserve to know the red flags we have uncovered,” he added.
According to documents reviewed by the committee, NNPCL claimed N103 trillion as accrued expenses and N107 trillion as receivables, figures totalling N210 trillion. Lawmakers described the claims as “impossible to reconcile” with the company’s financial realities and national oil revenue records.
Wadada said, “On question eight of the audit query, NNPC claimed N107 trillion receivables, equivalent to about $117 billion. This contradicts the company’s own records. We are duty-bound to reject that explanation outright.”
He further questioned the logic behind the company’s reported N103 trillion payment in joint venture cash calls for 2023 alone, when the NNPCL’s total crude oil revenue between 2017 and 2022 was only N24 trillion.
“Cash call arrangements were abolished in 2016 under President Buhari. How could NNPC claim to have paid N103 trillion in one year when it generated only N24 trillion in five years? Where did that money come from?” Wadada asked.
He insisted that the N103 trillion “must be returned to the Treasury,” saying, “As far as this committee is concerned, that figure is unjustifiable and unacceptable.”
The committee also dismissed NNPCL’s explanation regarding the N107 trillion receivables, which the company claimed were tied up in defunct banks, noting that no details or documentation were provided to support the claim.
He said, “NNPC said part of the N107 trillion is in defunct banks, but failed to name the banks or provide figures. Such a lack of transparency cannot be tolerated. When you combine both figures — N103 trillion and N107 trillion — NNPCL must account for N210 trillion.”
He warned that if the current management fails to present credible records, the Senate would compel the appearance of former NNPC and National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) executives.
He said, “If the present management cannot explain these discrepancies, we will subpoena all former officials of NNPC and NAPIMS.
“By law, NAPIMS is a department under NNPCL and should not maintain a separate account. Yet, it has been operating as if it were an independent entity.”
He added that the committee would henceforth insist on the physical presence of the NNPCL Chief Executive whenever the company is invited.
“Being out of the country will no longer be accepted as an excuse,” he warned.
All members of the committee supported the chairman’s stance, describing NNPCL’s conduct as a “calculated attempt to undermine legislative oversight and conceal the true state of the nation’s oil revenues.”
The N210 trillion controversy marks one of the biggest accountability tests for NNPCL since its transformation into a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Lawmakers maintained that despite its new corporate status, the NNPCL remains answerable to Nigerians for every kobo earned from the nation’s petroleum resources.
