The Senate has rejected the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL)’s written submission on unaccounted funds totaling ₦210 trillion covering the period between 2017 and 2023, describing the company’s failure to appear before lawmakers as unacceptable.

The Senate Committee on Public Accounts, chaired by Senator Aliyu Wadada (APC–Nasarawa West), said NNPCL ignored its invitation to address 19 audit queries raised by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, choosing instead to send a written response that lawmakers deemed “insufficient and evasive.”

Wadada condemned the company’s absence, calling it “offensive evasiveness,” and expressed concern over several financial discrepancies in NNPCL’s records.

According to the committee, the company claimed ₦103 trillion in accrued expenses and ₦107 trillion in receivables, figures that senators described as “unjustifiable and inconsistent with reported earnings.”

The chairman further questioned how NNPCL could have allegedly paid ₦103 trillion in cash calls to joint venture partners in 2023 alone, while generating only ₦24 trillion in crude oil revenue between 2017 and 2022.

“This committee will not condone repeated absences or evasive correspondence,” Wadada warned, adding that future failure by NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Engineer Bayo Ojulari, to appear before the Senate would be met with strict sanctions.

The committee also indicated plans to subpoena former officials of both NNPC and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) if satisfactory explanations for the alleged missing funds are not provided.

The investigation is part of the Senate’s ongoing oversight of public accounts aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in the management of Nigeria’s oil revenue.