The Senate has issued a one-week ultimatum for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to explain the whereabouts of over N4 trillion unremitted into the federation account.
This was after the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, appeared before the Senate Committee on Public Account on Tuesday.
The Auditor-General for the Federation, Aghughu Adolphus, was at the event. The committee directed the NNPC to supply detailed explanations on how it expended the money on other items within the next seven days.
The Office of Auditor – General, had in its 2016 Audit report accused the NNPC of non-remittance of N4.076trillion into the Federation account from operational proceeds made between 2010 and 2016.
The Director of Public Accounts, Olutoye Agesin, represented the AuGF while the Chief Finance Officer, Umar Ajiya, represented the NNPC GMD. But while the NNPC Chief Finance Officer in his submissions before the committee, explained that the alleged unremitted N4.076 trillion was spent on other critical areas of operations which were not taken cognizance of by the office of the AGF 2016 Audit report, Agesin countered by saying required explanations were not given for such spending.
The NNPC CFO in debunking the allegation said the alleged unremitted money was expended on oil pipeline repairs, domestic fuel supplies which were heavily subsidized, security and management matters.
“In fact, Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of this committee, from such expenses made within the stated period, it is even the federal government owing us N239billion,” he said.
He added that response to the query had been sufficiently made in the forensic audit conducted later, reports of which were forwarded to the Office of the Auditor-General and the committee.
“The forensic audit has been done, the auditor general has a copy of the forensic audit. At the end of the day that forensic audit established that NNPC was owing about N797billion. On the other hand, the federation was also owing NNPC, the net effect was that the NNPC was being owed N239billion, so there is nothing like N4tr withheld by NNPC.
“The books are with the CBN, you can’t hide N4tr anywhere. It has gone through the consumption of PMS and that is why everybody has to be involved with respect to deregulation”, he explained.
But, Agesin in his own counter submission, admitted that though a copy of the forensic report was received by them in the Office of Auditor-General explanations given by NNPC on alleged spending made with the N4.076trillion were factual with required shreds of evidence of spending.
“N4trillion is not a small amount of money that can just be said to be spent on pipeline repairs and oil subsidy within five years.
“Line by line details of such spendings ought to have been made in the NNPC’s response to the query,” he said.
Members of the committee such as Senators Ayo Akinyelure (PDP-Ondo Central), Ibrahim Abdullahi (PDP-Sokoto South), Suleiman Kwari (APC-Kaduna North) supported the representative of the Auditor General by telling the NNPC to give detailed accounts of how the money was spent.
Consequently, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia (APC-Jigawa North East), directed the Chief Finance Officer of NNPC to furnish the committee with the required details within a week, upon which the query will be vacated or sustained
