…Lawmakers allege illegal subsidy payments, threaten subpoenas as probe widens
By Reportcircle Abuja Politics & Energy Desk
The Senate Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has launched a sweeping investigation into what it calls a ₦210 trillion financial discrepancy in the books of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), raising fresh alarms over transparency and governance in Africa’s largest oil producer.
At a heated session on Tuesday at the National Assembly, the Committee accused the State oil firm of failing to account for ₦103 trillion in unexplained expenditures and ₦107 trillion in unverifiable receivables spanning 2017 to 2023, figures it described as “mind-boggling and contradictory.”
Committee Chairman, Senator Aliyu Wadada said the alleged discrepancies were uncovered during scrutiny of NNPCL’s audited financial statements, which appeared to show ₦103 trillion paid to joint venture (JV) partners in 2023 alone, despite the company’s own reports declaring ₦24 trillion in total revenue between 2017 and 2022.
“How can an agency that earned ₦24 trillion in six years claim to have paid ₦103 trillion to JV partners in one year?” Wadada asked. “Cash calls were abolished in 2016, yet NNPC continues to hide behind them to justify outrageous payments.”
According to the Committee, NNPCL also claimed that ₦107 trillion in receivables was trapped in defunct banks but failed to identify the financial institutions or provide documentary evidence.
“These figures simply don’t add up,” Wadada said. “Both the ₦103 trillion expenditure and ₦107 trillion receivables are unacceptable until verified by credible records.”
Illegal Subsidy Deductions Exposed
The PAC further accused NNPCL’s subsidiary, NAPIMS, of engaging in illegal subsidy deductions between 2017 and 2021.
According to Lawmakers, NAPIMS imposed “subsidy on crude oil,” while NNPCL simultaneously deducted subsidy on refined petroleum, a practice the committee branded “unlawful and financially reckless.
“There is no legal basis for any subsidy on crude oil,” the committee said in its preliminary findings. “It is a clear violation of financial regulations and an abuse of process.
Lawmakers also faulted NAPIMS for maintaining a separate financial account in defiance of public finance rules, insisting that it is merely a department under NNPCL and not an independent entity.
The Committee expressed frustration at the repeated absence of NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, from its hearings, warning that it would henceforth compel attendance through legal summons.
“From now on, this committee will no longer accept representation from NNPCL,” Wadada declared. “The chief executive must appear personally whenever invited. Being out of the country will no longer be an excuse.”
The Committee said if current management fails to produce satisfactory explanations for the missing trillions and the subsidy deductions, it will subpoena former executives of both NNPC and NAPIMS to testify under oath.
The unfolding probe, analysts say, marks one of the most aggressive legislative inquiries into NNPCL since its commercialisation in 2022.
The revelations have reignited long-standing questions over opaque accounting, subsidy leakages, and weak regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s petroleum sector, issues that have cost the treasury trillions of naira in lost revenue.
“The numbers being quoted here are larger than Nigeria’s entire GDP,” said an Abuja-based energy governance analyst. “If confirmed, this could become the biggest audit scandal in the history of the Nigerian oil industry.”
As the probe deepens, Nigerians are watching whether the Senate’s tough talk will translate into real accountability in a sector long shielded by political power and secrecy.
For now, the Public Accounts Committee says its mission is clear: NNPCL must account for every kobo,” Wadada vowed. “No institution is above the law.”
