The 10th Senate Committee on Public Accounts has summoned the former management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), including its immediate-past Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, over alleged financial discrepancies amounting to ₦210 trillion in the company’s audited accounts between 2017 and 2023.
According to Chairman of the committee, Aliyu Wadada, who represents Nasarawa West, disclosed the development during a press briefing at the National Assembly in Abuja on Thursday, the investigation is part of the committee’s constitutional responsibility to ensure accountability, transparency and proper management of public funds.
He explained that the probe is backed by Sections 85, 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, as well as the Senate Standing Orders.
The lawmaker said the inquiry began in May 2025 after the committee discovered possible financial management lapses while reviewing the Auditor-General’s reports for the years ending 2019 and 2020. Following the discovery, the committee requested additional information from the NNPCL and examined the company’s audited financial statements covering 2017 to 2023.
The panel also reviewed the financial records of the former National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), now renamed NNPCL Upstream Investment Limited. Wadada said lawmakers raised 19 queries regarding inconsistencies in the financial records, but the responses provided by the company were unsatisfactory.
One of the major issues identified was ₦103 trillion recorded as accrued expenses in the company’s 2022 audited financial statements. According to the senator, the expenses were said to include retention fees, legal fees and audit fees, yet the financial statements did not provide specific figures for each item.
“The retention fees, legal fees and audit fees that were said to make up ₦103 trillion had no individual figures attached to them”, Wadada said.
NNPCL later explained that the amount represented cumulative spending by joint venture partners under the joint venture cash call arrangement. However, Wadada said this explanation contradicts the company’s financial disclosures. He noted that the cash call system had already been abolished in 2016 and replaced from January 2017, making the explanation unacceptable to the committee.
The committee also flagged ₦107 trillion listed as “sundry receivables” in the company’s books as of December 2023. According to Wadada, the company claimed the money was owed by defunct banks and other entities but failed to provide a clear breakdown identifying the debtors.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about an alleged duplication of fuel subsidy deductions amounting to N3.8 trillion. The committee said subsidy costs were deducted both from crude oil proceeds in NAPIMS’ books and from petroleum product revenues recorded by NNPCL, suggesting double deductions against federation revenue.
Another issue involved N5 trillion recorded as direct production costs between 2017 and 2021. Wadada argued that both NNPCL and NAPIMS do not directly produce crude oil, making the charging of such costs against crude oil revenue questionable.
The committee also questioned the ₦5.9 billion spent during the transition of the organisation from NNPC to NNPC Limited.
According to Wadada, ₦2.9 billion was paid from petroleum product proceeds, while another N2.9 billion was charged against crude oil revenue by NAPIMS, bringing the total to ₦5.9 billion. “This resulted in a combined total of ₦5.9 billion being spent simply to change the name from NNPC to NNPCL. This is unacceptable”, he said.
The committee has directed the company to account for the combined ₦210 trillion arising from unexplained accrued expenses and receivables. “NNPCL should refund the sum of ₦210 trillion, being the combined figures of ₦103 trillion and ₦107 trillion, which were not properly explained”, Wadada said.
He also stated that the company must refund all production costs wrongly charged against crude oil revenues during the period under review.
The committee has invited the former management of NNPC and NAPIMS to appear before it, including Mele Kyari, former Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, and former NAPIMS head Bala Wunti.They are expected to appear alongside the current management of NNPCL and the company’s external auditors.
In addition, the committee recommended that the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation conduct a forensic audit of NNPC’s financial statements covering the period from 2017 to 2023.
Wadada said the senate will continue working with relevant institutions to strengthen accountability and transparency in the management of public funds in Nigeria’s oil sector.
