Senate Gives NNPCL Auditors 7 Days to Explain ₦210 Trillion in Questioned Transactions

By Victor Idajili

The Senate Public Accounts Committee has given external auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) a seven-day ultimatum to justify over ₦210 trillion in transactions flagged in the company’s audited financial statements.

The committee, led by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, issued the directive on Tuesday after a tense session where lawmakers rejected repeated attempts by the audit firms to pass the responsibility of explanation to NNPCL management.

 
The controversy is over two huge entries in NNPCL’s books:
₦107 trillion recorded as receivables
₦103 trillion listed as payables

Lawmakers said the figures have no supporting schedules to prove how they were arrived at, who the counterparties are, or what the transactions were for.

  
The auditors told the committee that the supporting documents were in their working papers and asked for about two weeks to retrieve them.  

The committee rejected the request.  
Senator Dankwambo asked: “When you have figures in audited financial statements, there must be schedules showing exactly how those figures were derived. If those schedules already exist in your working papers, why do you need additional time before presenting them to this committee?”

The audit firms argued that NNPCL is their client and that detailed explanations should come from the company. They also referenced an earlier agreement that NNPCL officials would clarify the figures.

Committee members disagreed, insisting that auditors who signed off on the accounts cannot distance themselves from them.

 
The lawmakers also dismissed suggestions that NNPCL could hide behind commercial confidentiality.

“NNPCL belongs to the Nigerian people, not to private shareholders. Parliament has every constitutional right to examine its accounts, and no confidentiality agreement can override that responsibility*,” a committee member said.

 
After the exchanges, the committee discharged the auditors and directed them to return within one week with full schedules and documentary evidence explaining the ₦210 trillion in questioned receivables and payables.

The committee warned that the probe will continue until full accountability is established on the transactions.