Concerns have been voiced by the Senate Committee on Public Accounts regarding the alleged expenditure of N5.9 billion on rebranding the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, as well as financial anomalies totalling approximately N210 trillion.
During a public hearing, parliamentarians questioned the national oil company’s financial records; the remarks were made by Aliyu Wadada Ahmed, the committee chairman. According to Wadada, the funds allocated for the changeover from NNPC to NNPCL were exorbitant.
“Who in this day and age can understand why such a large sum of money is being spent simply to rebrand NNPC to NNPCL?” he asked.
The committee’s audited documents show that N2.9 billion was spent on incorporation expenses by NNPC and N2.9 billion was charged against crude oil revenue by NAPIMS for the same purpose, both using money from petroleum products.
As a result of the duplication, a total of around N5.9 billion was spent on incorporation, according to Wadada.
Both NAPIMS and NNPC deducted N2.9 billion from crude oil revenues to cover incorporation expenses; NAPIMS paid the same amount from petroleum product income. As a result, NNPCL spent a total of N5.9 billion on incorporation,” he said.
Financial statistics of around N210 trillion (consisting of N103 trillion and N107 trillion), which the senator claimed were not well explained to the committee, were another source of his concerns.
Wadada stated that the NNPC ought to pay back a total of N210 trillion, which is the sum of N103 trillion and N107 trillion. The committee was not adequately informed about this amount, and it cannot be summed up according to accounting principles.
Umar Ajiya, a former chief financial officer, Mele Kyari, a former group managing director of NNPC, and other officials, including a former group general manager of NAPIMS, were summoned to appear before the committee.
Officials from the relevant departments, including Group Managing Director Mele Kyari and Chief Financial Officer Umar Ajiya, as well as others, are required by Wadada to come before the committee.
He went on to say that the current NNPCL management is also obligated to meet with the outside auditors who were in charge of the company’s finances throughout the review period in order to clarify the disputed numbers.
The Senate committee has said that it is holding the hearing as part of its continuing efforts to hold the oil sector accountable and transparent with regard to the handling of public cash.