The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the House of Representatives has directed the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Bayo Ojulari, to provide critical documentation and appear before the committee on Monday, December 15, 2025. This directive stems from audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation concerning NNPC’s activities between January and December 2021.
The Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam, issued the directive during a committee hearing held at the National Assembly Complex in Abuja. Salam voiced serious concerns regarding NNPC’s repeated failure to respond to the committee’s invitations and to supply the necessary documents, despite numerous reminders. He emphasized that the patience of the lawmakers was wearing thin and insisted that the committee would not be deterred from overseeing all agencies within its purview.
At the hearing, Salam, representing the Ede North/Ede South/Ejigbo/Egbedore Federal Constituency of Osun State, read aloud a letter from the NNPC’s CEO explaining his absence by citing a conflicting crucial official engagement at the Presidential Villa. This explanation was poorly received by the committee members, who deemed it disrespectful to the parliament and an obstruction to the audit review process.
Following a plea from Umar Faruk, NNPC’s National Assembly Liaison Officer, the committee reluctantly agreed to grant another opportunity, setting December 15, 2025, as the new date for NNPC to appear and submit all requested documents.
Salam stated firmly, “We have agreed as a committee to give you till next Monday, December 15, for a fresh appearance. Remember, the committee is very busy; we are handling numerous issues. If you have been here in the last couple of weeks, you would understand the volume of matters before us.”
The NNPC is required to address several audit queries from the Auditor-General, which include allegations of:
- Payments made to contractors for projects that were never completed.
- Failure to deduct legally mandated taxes.
- Irregular payments made by the Chief Finance Officer without the necessary authorization from the Group Managing Director.
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives holds a constitutional mandate to review audit reports submitted by the Auditor-General of the Federation. Over time, the committee has expanded its oversight functions to focus on various forms of financial mismanagement, including:
- Misuse of public funds.
- Unsettled financial advances.
- Inflated contract values.
- Unauthorized payments.
- Failure to remit revenue to the Federation Account.
The interventions of the PAC have resulted in significant recoveries for the Federal Government. The committee has, on numerous occasions, uncovered:
- Abandoned capital projects for which full payment had been made.
- Discrepancies in revenue declarations by revenue-generating agencies.
- Violations of procurement and financial regulations.
The petroleum sector, and specifically NNPC, has consistently been a focal point in the committee’s hearings due to recurring audit issues. These issues include:
- Unaccounted-for payments.
- Opaque subsidy claims.
- Joint venture cash calls.
- Problems related to the sale and remittance of crude oil revenues.
Audit queries from the Auditor-General have consistently highlighted gaps in:
- Documentation.
- Contract execution.
- Tax compliance within agencies operating in the oil and gas industry.
This latest summons to NNPC is part of the PAC’s ongoing efforts to enforce accountability and ensure complete responses to audit findings for the 2021 financial year. This audit cycle revealed numerous irregularities across multiple Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs). The committee has consistently asserted that no agency, irrespective of its size or strategic importance, is exempt from scrutiny and that compliance with parliamentary oversight is mandatory under Nigerian law.
