The Senate Committee on Public Accounts has raised the alarm over discrepancies amounting to trillions of naira in the audited financial statements of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

The committee chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada described the revelations as mind-boggling and worrisome.

During the investigative session on Wednesday, where the Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, appeared before the committee, the Senate queried the absence of detailed records justifying massive legal and auditing fees paid out by NNPCL.

The panel also flagged some contradictions in receivables reportedly worth over N210 trillion between 2017 and 2023.

The panel said, “Legal fees were accrued without any explanation or documentation regarding the legal services rendered. The auditors’ fees raise similar questions. There are no clear justifications. Everything we’ve seen and heard from the audited financial statements is troubling.”

“Trillions of naira are in question, and the new document they presented this afternoon doesn’t match what’s already in their audited report. It’s completely independent and contradictory,” Wadada said, concerning the receivables.

The panel said that the concerns stem directly from the analysis of NNPC’s audited financial statements spanning 2017 to 2023, not from speculation. The committee has now handed over a list of 11 queries to NNPC’s finance team and given them one week to return with answers.

Senator Wadada also warned that the matter would not be swept under the rug, especially as the Tinubu administration, under its Renewed Hope agenda, seeks transparency and accountability in public finance.