According to Punch, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) is facing mounting pressure from the Senate after failing to appear before the Public Accounts Committee investigating discrepancies in its audited financial records totaling over N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.
Despite a formal invitation, NNPCL officials and their external auditors were absent from the Senate hearing held on Thursday. Their absence was notable, especially as representatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and Department of State Services (DSS) were present and ready to engage.
NNPCL’s Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, sent a letter dated June 25, requesting a two-month extension due to a management retreat involving senior leadership. The letter explained that the company needed additional time to compile relevant documents and data.
However, the Senate committee firmly rejected the request. Committee Chairman, Senator Aliyu Wadada, expressed frustration over the company’s unwillingness to engage, noting that NNPCL was only required to provide verbal clarifications to 11 pre-submitted questions—not extensive documentation.
Wadada criticized the two-month delay as unwarranted and unacceptable for a major national institution. He issued a ten-day ultimatum, ordering NNPCL’s senior management to appear by July 10 or face constitutional sanctions.
Senator Abdul Ningi emphasized that NNPCL’s new Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari—who succeeded Mele Kyari in April—must personally lead the team at the next hearing. Other senators echoed similar sentiments, expressing concern over what they saw as an attempt to avoid scrutiny.
Senator Victor Umeh warned that repeated failure to cooperate would prompt stronger action from the legislature and serve as a public signal that the Senate would no longer tolerate non-compliance from government-linked entities.
He said; “If they fail to appear again, Nigerians will know the Senate is not a toothless bulldog.
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