The Nigerian Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada, has raised serious concerns over major financial discrepancies involving trillions of naira in the audited reports of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). The revelations have been described as not only “mind-boggling” but also deeply troubling.
At an investigative session held yesterday, NNPC’s Chief Financial Officer, Dapo Segun, was grilled by lawmakers over inconsistencies in financial records, including questionable legal and auditing fees as well as a staggering ₦210 trillion in reported receivables between 2017 and 2023.
“There are massive legal fees recorded without any explanation or documentation to show what services were rendered,” the committee observed. “Even the auditors’ fees raise red flags. There’s no transparency, no justification — just numbers without backing.”
Senator Wadada emphasized that the real shock lies in the figures presented for receivables. He pointed out that the new documents brought forward by the NNPC finance team during the session contradict previously submitted audited reports.
“The figures don’t match at all. What they presented today is completely different from their audited financials. This isn’t hearsay — it’s right there in the documents,” Wadada said, clearly disturbed by the scale of irregularities.
In response, the committee has handed NNPC’s finance department 11 official queries and given them one week to provide detailed answers. According to the panel, this probe is part of a broader effort to support President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda — a promise to clean up public finance and restore accountability in government.
“This will not be swept under the carpet,” Wadada assured. “The Nigerian people deserve answers.”
In a related development, Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (retd.), the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, is expected to appear before the Senate’s Ad-Hoc Committee on the Rivers State Emergency Rule. He is to defend the state’s ambitious ₦1.48 trillion budget proposal for the 2025 fiscal year.
As scrutiny intensifies on how public funds are being managed at both the federal and state levels, Nigerians are watching closely — hoping that this time, accountability will finally follow the money.
