…As PAC rejects request for more time
The Senate Public Accounts Committee on Wednesday gave the external auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) one week to provide a detailed breakdown of over ₦210 trillion contained in the company’s audited financial statements.
The Committee, chaired by Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, said the auditors must produce the schedules and working papers supporting the figures rather than refer lawmakers back to NNPC Ltd.
At the centre of the dispute are two major balance sheet entries: approximately ₦107 trillion classified as receivables and ₦103 trillion recorded as payables. Lawmakers said the amounts had not been adequately explained despite repeated engagements with the national oil company.
When asked to provide the detailed schedules, representatives of the external audit firm told the committee the documents formed part of their working papers and requested about two weeks to retrieve them.
Senator Dankwambo questioned why the auditors could not produce documents backing figures they had already certified.
“When you have figures in the financial statements, there must be supporting schedules showing how those figures were arrived at. If you already have them in your working papers, why do you need to go back before presenting them to this committee?” he asked.
The auditors argued that under professional practice, NNPC Ltd. remained their principal and that explanations relating to the figures should ordinarily come from the company. They recalled that it had earlier been agreed that NNPC officials would provide explanations.
Senator Abdul Ningi cited Sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, stressing that the National Assembly has the power to summon any person and compel the production of documents relevant to an investigation.
“The Constitution empowers this committee to invite any person and request any document necessary for our investigation. You are before this committee as independent auditors.
“Do not tell us you must first seek permission from your client before complying with the lawful request of Parliament,” Ningi said.
Lawmakers maintained that the auditors were appearing in their own capacity and were responsible for defending the audit opinions they issued.
Senator Adams Oshiomhole reminded the auditors that the figures generating public concern originated from their work.
“The alarms were raised because of the work you people performed. These figures came from your audit. Therefore, you cannot tell this committee that you must consult your principal before responding. You are responsible for your audit work and must answer questions arising from it,” Oshiomhole said.
Another senator questioned whether the audit had been properly conducted, saying if the supporting documentation did not already exist, it raised serious doubts about the audit.
“If it was done, the supporting documentation should already exist. We believe 48 hours should be sufficient, but certainly not an indefinite period,” the senator said.
The committee also faulted NNPC Ltd. and the auditors for failing to reconcile the receivables and payables.
Dankwambo noted that NNPC officials had consistently claimed the figures related to joint venture cash calls and payments, but had not identified the individual transactions or counterparties.
“If both entries genuinely relate to the same transactions, they ought to be reconciled and netted off,” he said.
“The inability to identify the components of both figures is precisely why this committee considers the combined amount of over ₦210 trillion as unexplained.
“We are not saying the money is missing. We are saying the figures remain unexplained. For amounts of this magnitude to remain unreconciled in audited financial statements is deeply concerning.”
Oshiomhole argued that NNPC Ltd., being wholly owned by the Federal Government, cannot rely on commercial secrecy to deny Parliament information required for oversight.
“NNPC is not a private family business. It belongs to the Nigerian people. We represent those people, and we are entitled to know how every kobo is accounted for,” he said.
Senator Babangida Useni added that neither professional ethics nor confidentiality agreements could override the National Assembly’s investigative powers.
Drawing from international experience, Dankwambo warned of reputational risks, citing the collapse of Arthur Andersen after the Enron scandal as an example of the consequences of audit failures.
The committee directed the auditors to submit, within one week, a comprehensive schedule identifying every component of the ₦107 trillion receivables and ₦103 trillion payables, with supporting documentation on the basis of certification.
“We have never said the money is missing. What we have consistently maintained is that these figures remain unexplained. One represents receivables, and the other represents payables. Because neither has been adequately explained, the committee refers to the combined amount of about ₦210 trillion as unexplained. That is the issue before us.”
The committee discharged the auditors and directed them to return within one week with the requested documents.
