You have 10 days to account for missing ₦200 Trillion – Senate tells NNPCL boss - Politics

 

Threatens Arrest Warrant for GCEO Bashiru Ojulari The Senate through its Committee on Public Accounts has issued a final warning to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), demanding that its Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashiru Bayo Ojulari, appear in person before the committee within 10 working days to address audit discrepancies totaling N210 trillion.[/b] At its session on Thursday, the committee chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada expressed strong disapproval after NNPCL failed to honor the invitation to clarify inconsistencies in its audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023. Instead, the company submitted a letter requesting a two-month extension to gather relevant documents. The letter was read aloud by the committee’s clerk. Wadada and committee members firmly rejected the excuse, emphasizing that no further delays would be tolerated. A new date for the hearing has now been fixed for Thursday, July 10, 2025. “This committee finds it completely unacceptable that the NNPCL CEO and his team failed to appear before us today to address audit discrepancies amounting to over N210 trillion,” Senator Aliyu Wadada said. “The excuse that top management is away on a retreat, and that they require two more months to collate documents, is not only insufficient but disrespectful to the Nigerian people. "These discrepancies are already in the public domain through their audited financial statements. We are not interested in any contradictory submissions. "The GCEO must appear in person by July 10 or we will invoke the full constitutional powers of the National Assembly, including issuing a warrant of arrest Wadada charged. Representatives of key anti-corruption and security agencies the EFCC, ICPC, NFIU, and DSS were present at the hearing to underscore the seriousness of the probe. The committee insisted that GCEO Ojulari must appear personally, warning that failure to do so could result in the Senate invoking its constitutional powers, including issuing a warrant of arrest. Lawmakers declared that further refusal to comply would be treated as contempt of the Senate, which would trigger full legislative enforcement. In its letter, NNPCL explained that top management and board members were unavailable due to a corporate retreat, and that the documents requested by the Senate require more time to compile. The SUN had earlier reported that the Senate Committee on Public Accounts recently launched an investigation into NNPCL following the discovery of significant discrepancies amounting to N210 trillion in its audited financial reports. Wadada revealed that external auditors have been engaged to assist with the probe. “We, NNPC, and the external auditors are here because of discrepancies discovered from their audited financial statements, which are already in the public domain,” Wadada said. He emphasized that any document contradicting the audited financials would be disregarded. “As far as we’re concerned, any such document is just paper. We’re only focused on what’s in the audited financial statements.” According to the committee, N103 trillion was listed as accrued expenses, and N107 trillion as receivables, amounting to a total of N210 trillion under scrutiny. Wadada criticized the company’s claim that reconciliation had not yet been done. “If reconciliation wasn’t completed, why did they sign off on the audited statement that’s now in the public domain? Especially when NNPC is planning an Initial Public Offer (IPO),” he queried. In response, NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, said the N107 trillion figure stemmed from Joint Venture (JV) cash calls both requests by JV partners and payments by NNPCL that hadn’t yet been reconciled due to governance delays. He argued that the figures were two sides of the same transaction and would cancel each other out after reconciliation. Despite this explanation, Senator Wadada directed NNPCL to respond formally to a detailed set of questions and submit their answers within one week which culminated in Thursday's meeting. https://dailypost.ng/2025/06/26/you-have-10-days-to-account-for-missing-n200trn-senate-tells-nnpcl-boss/

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