The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Aliyu Wadada, has raised serious alarm over discrepancies involving trillions of naira in the audited financial statements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), describing the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome.
During the investigative session on Wednesday, where the Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, appeared before the committee, the absence of detailed records justifying massive legal and auditing fees was flagged, as well as contradictions in receivables reportedly worth over N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.
The panel said, “Legal fees were accrued without any explanation or documentation regarding the legal services rendered. The auditors’ fees raise similar questions. There are no clear justifications. Everything we’ve seen and heard from the audited financial statements is troubling.”
Senator Wadada further stated that the main concern is with the receivables.
“Trillions of naira are in question, and the new document they presented this afternoon doesn’t match what’s already in their audited report. It’s completely independent and contradictory,” he said.
The committee underscored that the concerns stem directly from the analysis of NNPC’s audited financial statements spanning 2017 to 2023, not from speculation. The committee has now handed over a list of 11 queries to NNPC’s finance team and given them one week to return with answers.
Senator Wadada also warned that the matter would not be swept under the rug, especially as the Tinubu administration, under its Renewed Hope agenda, seeks transparency and accountability in public finance.
Meanwhile, the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), is scheduled to appear before the Senate Ad-Hoc committee on Rivers State Emergency Rule to defend the state’s proposed N1.48 trillion expenditure for the 2025 fiscal year.
