Reps committee blasts NNPCL for snubbing invitation, sets Dec 15 deadline

The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts has expressed strong dissatisfaction with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) for failing to respond to audit queries issued by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation regarding its 2021 financial records.

The Committee has now directed the Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, to submit all outstanding documents and appear before lawmakers on Monday, 15th December 2025, to address concerns surrounding expenditures recorded between January and December 2021.

Chairman of the Committee, Bamidele Salam (PDP, Osun), who gave the directive at the committee’s sitting on Monday, expressed displeasure over NNPCL’s persistent failure to honour the committee’s invitations or provide the requested documents despite multiple reminders.

He warned that the committee would no longer tolerate such disregard for legislative oversight.

At the resumed hearing, the chairman read a letter from NNPCL explaining the GCEO’s absence, citing another critical official engagement at the Presidential Villa.

However, members of the Committee faulted the company’s conduct, describing it as disrespectful to the parliament and obstructive to the audit review process.

Following an appeal by the NNPCL National Assembly Liaison Officer, Hon. Umar Faruk, the committee resolved to grant a final grace, fixing 15th December 2025 for the company to appear and submit all requested documents.

In his ruling, Salam said, “We have agreed as a committee to give you till next Monday, the 15th of December, for a fresh appearance. Remember, the committee is very busy; we are dealing with so many issues. If you have been here in the last couple of weeks, you would understand the volume of matters before us.”

The NNPCL is expected to respond to several queries raised by the Auditor-General, including alleged payments to contractors for abandoned projects, failure to deduct statutory taxes, and irregular payments made by the Chief Finance Officer without the approval of the Group Managing Director.