Senate committees have intensified scrutiny of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited over a staggering N210 trillion in financial discrepancies identified in audit reports from 2017 to 2023. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Aliyu Wadada, directed Group Chief Executive Officer Bayo Ojulari to produce immediate past GCEO Mele Kyari, former CFO Umar Ajia, Dr. Bala Wunti, and the company's external auditors for a probe on April 29, 2026. The panel demanded a detailed breakdown of N103 trillion classified as "liabilities" and N107 trillion reportedly spent on Joint Venture Cash Calls and debts tied to unnamed defunct banks. Wadada rejected NNPCL's previous responses as insufficient, stating the explanations for the 19 audit queries raised were unacceptable. He emphasized that liabilities must be itemized into specific costs such as legal, audit, and retention fees. The committee issued a final two-week ultimatum for full compliance, warning of constitutional measures to compel appearance if the directive is ignored. The motion was moved by Senator Osita Izunaso and seconded by Senator Adams Oshiomhole. Senator Abdul Ningi criticized repeated non-compliance with legislative summons, describing it as a threat to democratic accountability.
The Senate's ultimatum to Bayo Ojulari and Mele Kyari over the N210 trillion audit gap marks a rare moment of legislative assertiveness over Nigeria's opaque oil sector, where financial disclosures have long been shielded by institutional inertia. By demanding a line-by-line account of liabilities and expenditures—including the identities of defunct banks tied to N107 trillion—the committee is challenging the long-standing practice of bundling massive sums under vague financial categories that evade public scrutiny.
This confrontation reflects deeper systemic rot in how Nigeria's most critical revenue-generating institution operates, with successive management teams treating audit queries as bureaucratic formalities rather than legal obligations. The fact that 19 separate questions have drawn only generalized replies suggests a culture of impunity, one that lawmakers now appear determined to disrupt. The involvement of top NNPCL figures from different eras indicates the problem spans administrations, not just individuals.
For ordinary Nigerians, the stakes are direct: this sum, if mismanaged or unaccounted for, represents lost funding for infrastructure, healthcare, and education in a country where austerity measures bite daily. The April 29 deadline is not just a date for testimony—it is a test of whether the National Assembly can enforce accountability where courts and previous oversight bodies have failed.
This episode fits a broader pattern: oil sector opacity persisting despite reform efforts, and legislative bodies only stepping in when public pressure peaks. The real question is whether this push will end in theatre or trigger actual financial reckoning.
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