The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has issued a 10-day ultimatum to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) boss, Bayo Ojulari, to address the ₦200 trillion discovered to have gone missing from the firm’s account after a thorough audit of its operations.
The lawmakers noted that the failure of the petroleum firm’s boss to comply by responding to the 11 critical financial queries related to discrepancies in its audited financial statements would attract serious constitutional consequences.
This ultimatum was issued on Thursday after the lawmakers rejected NNPCL’s request for a two-month extension to respond to the queries issued over the firm’s finances.
The ultimatum, which will expire on July 10, was issued by the committee chaired by Aliyu Wadada, after turning down NNPCL’s request for two months.
Wadada said, “It is unacceptable. We have given them 10 working days. This committee will not tolerate delay tactics in matters concerning public funds.”
The lawmaker warned that should the NNPCL boss fail to respond, the Senate would be compelled to invoke its constitutional oversight powers.
“Any attempt to disregard this committee’s directive will amount to contempt of the Senate. We are here to protect public funds, and we will not be deterred,” he said.
He also lamented the absence of NNPCL’s external auditors at the hearing, underscoring the need for transparency and accountability.
The session was attended by representatives from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Department of States Services (DSS) and other key stakeholders who served as witnesses to the proceedings.
The lawmakers had expressed dissatisfaction days ago over what it described as mind-boggling and unacceptable financial irregularities uncovered in NNPCL’s books, including over N200 trillion in unexplained receivables and undocumented legal and audit fees spanning the years 2017 to 2023.
