The Senate Public Accounts Committee has intensified its scrutiny of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), giving the company's external auditors just one week to provide documents explaining more than N210 trillion recorded as receivables and payables in its audited financial statements.
The directive was issued during a heated committee hearing on Wednesday, where lawmakers demanded comprehensive schedules and audit working papers supporting approximately N107 trillion in receivables and N103 trillion in payables captured in the oil company's accounts.
The auditors had appealed for a two-week extension, explaining that the requested schedules formed part of their audit working papers and would need time to retrieve. However, the committee rejected the request, insisting that documents used to certify such significant figures should be readily available.
Chairman of the committee, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, questioned the auditors' inability to immediately produce records backing the figures they had already endorsed.
He argued that auditors who signed off on the financial statements should be able to defend and substantiate the figures without delay.
The auditors, in their defence, maintained that NNPC Ltd. remained their client and should be responsible for explaining the disputed entries. The committee disagreed, stressing that auditors are accountable for the professional opinions expressed in audited accounts and must provide evidence supporting their conclusions.
Lawmakers also raised concerns about the credibility of the audit process if the supporting documentation could not be produced.
Senator Abdul Ningi reminded the auditors that the National Assembly possesses constitutional powers to compel any individual or organisation to provide documents relevant to legislative investigations.
In the same vein, Senator Patrick Ndubueze warned that failure to present the schedules would raise serious questions about the integrity and thoroughness of the audit exercise.
The committee noted that previous explanations offered by NNPC officials, who attributed the figures to joint venture transactions, had failed to adequately reconcile the accounts or clarify the huge sums involved.
Adding his voice, Senator Adams Oshiomhole said NNPC Ltd., as a government-owned enterprise, could not rely on claims of commercial confidentiality to withhold information from the parliament.
According to him, public accountability must take precedence where public assets and finances are concerned.
Despite the mounting pressure, Dankwambo clarified that the committee was not alleging that the funds were missing. Rather, he said lawmakers were seeking transparency and a proper reconciliation of the combined N210 trillion reflected in the company's books.
The committee subsequently directed the auditors to return within one week with all relevant schedules, records and audit working papers, setting the stage for what could become one of the most closely watched financial accountability investigations involving Nigeria's state-owned oil company.
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