Senate Gives NNPC Auditors 1 Week To Explain N210trn Financial Entries

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has given the external auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited a one-week deadline to provide a detailed breakdown of over N210 trillion recorded as receivables and payables in the company’s audited financial statements.

The ultimatum was issued during an investigative hearing into NNPC’s audited accounts, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo.

The lawmakers said the figures, comprising about N107 trillion in receivables and N103 trillion in payables, remain unexplained and must be reconciled.

The hearing turned tense on Wednesday after representatives of the external audit firm requested two weeks to retrieve the schedules and working papers supporting the figures.

The committee rejected the request, with Dankwambo questioning why the auditors could not immediately produce documents backing financial entries they had already certified.

The auditors argued that NNPC remained their client and that explanations regarding the disputed figures should ordinarily come from the company.

They added that it had previously been agreed that NNPC officials would clarify the entries contained in the financial statements.

However, the committee rejected the position, insisting that the auditors were appearing before the Senate in their independent professional capacity and were obligated to defend the audit opinions they issued.

Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) cited Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, stressing that the National Assembly has the constitutional authority to summon individuals and compel the production of documents relevant to its investigations.

“You are before this committee as independent auditors,” Ningi said. “Do not tell us you must first seek permission from your client before complying with the lawful request of Parliament.”

Senator Adams Oshiomhole (Edo North) also faulted the auditors’ position, saying the issues under scrutiny arose directly from their audit work.

“The alarms were raised because of the work you people performed,” Oshiomhole said. “These figures came from your audit. Therefore, you cannot tell this committee that you must consult your principal before responding. You are responsible for your audit work and must answer questions arising from it.”

Dankwambo criticised the continued inability of both NNPC and its auditors to reconcile the disputed figures.

He noted that while NNPC had repeatedly maintained that the amounts related mainly to joint venture cash calls and payments, the company had failed to identify the specific transactions or counterparties involved.

“We have repeatedly been told these amounts relate to joint venture cash calls and joint venture payments,” Dankwambo said. “If that is the case, the company should be able to identify whose receivables and whose payables they are and reconcile them accordingly.”

“The inability to identify the components of both figures is precisely why this committee considers the combined amount of over N210 trillion as unexplained,” he added. “We are not saying the money is missing. We are saying the figures remain unexplained. For amounts of this magnitude to remain unreconciled in audited financial statements is deeply concerning.”

Lawmakers also dismissed the auditors’ reliance on confidentiality obligations.

Oshiomhole argued that NNPC, as a wholly government-owned company, could not invoke commercial confidentiality to withhold information from the National Assembly during a constitutional investigation.

“NNPC is not a private family business,” he said. “It belongs to the Nigerian people. We represent those people, and we are entitled to know how every kobo is accounted for. There can be no secrecy between an auditor and a wholly government-owned company when Parliament is carrying out a constitutional investigation.”

The committee directed the auditors to submit the requested schedules and supporting documents within one week, warning that failure to comply could attract further legislative action.