Nigeria’s Senate Public Accounts Committee has directed the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to jointly resolve outstanding financial queries raised in the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative’s (NEITI) 2021–2023 Oil and Gas Sector Audit Report.
The directive followed the appearance of Finance Ministry Permanent Secretary Raymond Omachi before the committee on Thursday, August 13, as lawmakers sought explanations for several unresolved petroleum-sector transactions involving billions of dollars and naira.
One of the most significant issues is a $3 billion pre-export financing facility obtained in 2012 to settle subsidy payments. According to NEITI, the recovery of the facility from monthly Federation revenue under the pre-export financing and Project Eagle arrangements remains unclear.
The audit also questioned the treatment of $722.6 million paid by Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) to NNPC in 2021 as dividends and interest earned on behalf of the Federation. NEITI said the funds were neither remitted to the Federation Account nor properly accounted for. The observation remains an audit query requiring reconciliation and explanation, rather than a finding of established wrongdoing.
Other outstanding issues include about ₦200 billion reportedly spent on refinery rehabilitation in 2021, when none of Nigeria’s refineries was operational, and $221.283 million in overhead costs incurred by the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) during the year.
Omachi told lawmakers that the Finance Ministry was not directly involved in all the transactions and lacked records needed to respond fully to some of the queries. He specifically cited difficulties obtaining information from agencies including NNPCL and NUPRC.
The ministry has engaged Arthur Andersen LLP to conduct a forensic audit and reconcile the disputed transactions. However, the committee questioned why the exercise had been extended twice, from an initial six-month period to one year, without resolving the outstanding issues.
Committee Chairman Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo directed the Finance Ministry to bring NNPCL and NUPRC together for a joint session so lawmakers can obtain explanations directly from the agencies responsible for the records.
The dispute highlights persistent challenges in tracking petroleum revenues across Nigeria’s public institutions. Resolving the queries will be important not only for legislative oversight but also for strengthening fiscal transparency and confidence in the management of the country’s oil and gas revenues.
The agencies are expected to return before the committee with reconciled records and explanations for the outstanding transactions.
