The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee will on Monday and Tuesday question officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) over alleged financial breaches exceeding ₦802.19 billion.
The issues are contained in reports of the Auditor-General for the Federation covering the 2021, 2022 and 2023 financial years. The audit reports raised concerns over procurement processes, revenue management, payments, statutory remittances and compliance with financial regulations.
According to reports, about ₦514 billion in audit queries is linked to NNPCL, while approximately ₦288.19 billion concerns INEC, bringing the combined figure to more than ₦802 billion.
For NNPCL, some of the issues reportedly include alleged irregular deductions of ₦343.64 billion from domestic crude oil sales, ₦83.66 billion in miscellaneous revenue allegedly kept in a sinking fund account, and ₦82.95 billion in alleged unauthorised deductions from Federation revenue. Another ₦3.75 billion was reportedly flagged over a shortfall connected to petroleum product sales.
INEC is also expected to provide explanations on audit queries involving procurement, payments to contractors and statutory deductions, including spending linked to the 2019 general election. One of the transactions previously flagged involved more than ₦5.31 billion allegedly paid for smart card readers without prior approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
The committee, chaired by Bamidele Salam, is expected to demand supporting documents and explanations from the affected institutions.
However, the audit queries do not by themselves establish financial misconduct, as the agencies are expected to respond to the allegations and provide relevant records before the committee reaches any conclusion.
The hearings are part of the committee’s constitutional responsibility to examine public accounts and investigate issues relating to revenue losses and compliance with financial regulations.
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