The Senate has confirmed that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has submitted responses to 19 audit queries concerning an unaccounted N210 trillion, covering financial years 2017 to 2023.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Senator Aliyu Wadada (Nasarawa West), who made the disclosure, explained that although the NNPCL had responded to the committee’s questions, the Senate has yet to critically examine the submissions.

‘The management of NNPCL wrote to the committee during the recess, requesting more time to compile data and respond comprehensively to our questions. We granted the extension. They have now responded to all 19 queries, but the report is yet to be presented before the full committee”.

The queries relate to discrepancies in the audited accounts of the national oil company, which the Senate has described as lacking transparency.

The committee had issued a three-week deadline to NNPCL’s chief executive officer, Engr. Bayo Ojulari, on July 29, to provide answers regarding the N210 trillion flagged in audit reports.

Senator Wadada assured Nigerians that the committee would conduct a thorough and impartial review of NNPCL’s responses before taking any public position.

“I have refrained from making any public statement on the matter until the committee has formally reviewed the report. But as I promised earlier, we will do justice to the matter”.

Beyond the audit queries, Wadada revealed that additional concerns have surfaced around NNPCL’s operations, including its production sharing contracts (PSCs) and the recent disclosure that NNPC Retail, a subsidiary of the company, recorded financial losses.

‘We’ve been told NNPC Retail is running at a loss, which is very concerning. We find it hard to understand how a retail arm of the national oil company would operate at a loss in today’s market environment. This, too, will be examined.”

He concluded by assuring Nigerians that once the committee reviews the responses, it will make its findings public. (CHANNELS)