Nigerian Senate Raises Alarm Over Missing N210 Trillion in NNPCL Accounts
The Nigerian Senate has given the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) a one-week ultimatum to account for a staggering N210 trillion missing from its audited financial statements covering the period from 2017 to 2023.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Aliyu Wadada, raised the alarm during a recent committee session, demanding explanations for the massive financial discrepancy in the state-owned oil company's records.
NNPCL's Explanation for the Missing Funds
In response to the Senate's concerns, NNPCL's Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Adedapo Segun, attributed the missing N210 trillion to unreconciled joint venture (JV) transactions.
"The N103 trillion and N107 trillion are made up of joint venture cash calls that have been requested by the JV operators and JV cash call payments made by NNPCL, which are yet to be reconciled because governance procedures were not done at that time," Segun explained.
According to the CFO, these figures represent "two sides of the same transaction" – cash calls by joint venture partners and the settlements made by NNPCL – which would eventually be reconciled.
Expert Questions NNPCL's Explanation
Financial analyst Habu Sadeik has criticized the explanation provided by NNPCL's CFO as unsatisfactory. In a statement shared on social media platform X, Sadeik questioned the credibility of the company's financial reporting.
"The CFO's response is not satisfactory. Are you saying that cash calls worth hundreds of trillions are just appearing on your financial statement only in 2024 without disclosure? If it's a cash call, why hasn't the disclosure said so?" Sadeik questioned.
He further expressed skepticism about the magnitude of the reported cash calls, stating, "Which cash call is over 100 trillion? Something is definitely not right, and I hope they retrospectively correct that financial statement."
Implications for Nigeria's Oil Sector Transparency
This financial discrepancy raises significant questions about transparency and accountability in Nigeria's oil sector, particularly following NNPCL's transition from a corporation to a limited liability company under the Petroleum Industry Act.
The Senate committee's investigation comes at a time when Nigeria is working to improve governance in its oil sector, which remains the country's primary source of foreign exchange and government revenue.
As the one-week deadline approaches, Nigerians await further clarification from NNPCL on how such a substantial amount could remain unreconciled in its financial statements for several years.
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