Senate gives NNPC auditors one week to explain ₦210 trillion unreconciled accounts

Senate gives NNPC auditors one week to explain ₦210 trillion unreconciled accounts

The Senate Public Accounts Committee (SPAC) has given the external auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) a one-week ultimatum to submit documents explaining more than ₦210 trillion recorded as receivables and payables in the company’s audited financial statements.

The directive followed a heated investigative hearing on Wednesday, during which lawmakers insisted that auditors who certified the accounts must provide detailed evidence to support the figures presented in the financial statements.

The committee ordered the auditors to produce comprehensive schedules and audit working papers explaining approximately ₦107 trillion listed as receivables and another ₦103 trillion recorded as payables in NNPC Ltd.’s audited accounts.

The auditors had requested two weeks to retrieve the documents, arguing that the schedules formed part of their audit working papers. However, the committee rejected the request and instead granted them just one week to comply.

Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, questioned why auditors who had already signed off on the financial statements required additional time to produce documents supporting the figures.

“If you already have the figures in your working papers, why do you need to go back before presenting them to this committee?” Dankwambo asked.

The auditors maintained that NNPC Ltd. remained their client and should be responsible for explaining the disputed figures. They also argued that the committee had previously agreed that officials of the national oil company would provide clarifications on the financial entries.

However, members of the committee rejected that position, stressing that external auditors are professionally responsible for defending the audit opinions they issue after certifying financial statements.

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Senator Abdul Ningi reminded the auditors that the National Assembly has constitutional powers to compel any individual or organisation to produce documents required for legislative oversight and investigations.

Also speaking, Senator Patrick Ndubueze questioned the credibility of the audit exercise, warning that failure to provide supporting schedules could cast doubt on whether the audit was conducted in accordance with accepted professional standards.

The committee also expressed dissatisfaction with previous explanations offered by NNPC Ltd., which attributed the figures largely to joint venture (JV) cash call transactions and related obligations. Lawmakers noted that those explanations failed to reconcile the receivables and payables or clearly identify the transactions, counterparties and calculations supporting the entries.

Former Edo State Governor and Senator, Adams Oshiomhole, argued that although NNPC Ltd. now operates as a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), it remains wholly owned by the Federal Government and cannot rely on commercial confidentiality to withhold information from Parliament.

According to Oshiomhole, institutions managing public assets are fully accountable to Nigerians through the National Assembly and must cooperate with legislative oversight.

Responding to concerns that the Senate was alleging financial misappropriation, Dankwambo clarified that the committee had not stated that the ₦210 trillion was missing or stolen.

He explained that the issue before the committee is that the huge receivables and payables remain unreconciled and insufficiently explained, making it necessary for the auditors to provide documentary evidence supporting the figures contained in the audited accounts.

The ongoing investigation forms part of the Senate’s broader review of audit queries arising from NNPC Ltd.’s audited financial statements covering multiple financial years. The Public Accounts Committee has been examining observations raised by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation, particularly those relating to financial reporting, asset management and accounting practices within the national oil company.

The committee subsequently directed the auditors to return within one week with detailed audit schedules, working papers and supporting documents explaining every component of the ₦107 trillion receivables and ₦103 trillion payables, warning that failure to comply could attract further legislative action.

Senate gives NNPC auditors one week to explain ₦210 trillion unreconciled accounts