Unexplained figures: Senate grills NNPC auditors over ₦210tn

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has given NNPC’s external auditors one week to produce detailed breakdowns of over ₦210 trillion in unreconciled receivables and payables recorded across the oil giant’s 2017–2023 financial statements, warning that the figures remain deeply unexplained.

Nigeria’s Senate wants answers — and it wants them in seven days.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by former Accountant-General of the Federation Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, on Wednesday issued a firm one-week ultimatum to the external auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), demanding a full breakdown of over ₦210 trillion sitting in the company’s audited accounts largely unreconciled, according to multiple parliamentary correspondents covering the Abuja hearing.

Tribune reports that at the heart of the probe are two jaw-dropping entries spanning the 2017 to 2023 financial years — ₦107 trillion classified as receivables and ₦103 trillion recorded as payables — with no detailed schedules produced to explain either figure.

When the auditors asked for two weeks to respond, senators shut that down immediately.

“When you have figures in the financial statements, there must be supporting schedules showing how those figures were arrived at. If you already have them in your working papers, why do you need to go back before presenting them to this committee?” Dankwambo pressed.

The auditors’ attempt to deflect — arguing the details should come from NNPC as their principal — was swiftly rejected. Senator Abdul Ningi cited Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution to remind the auditors that Parliament needs no client’s permission to compel information.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole was equally pointed. “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 was careful to clarify the committee’s position on the figures. “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.”

The auditors were subsequently asked to leave the hearing room.