Senate Panel Summons NNPCL External Auditors for Shunning Invitations

•Threatens arrest if fresh notice is ignored

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

The Senate Public Account Committee (SPAC) yesterday summoned the external auditors of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to appear before it or risk arrest.

The threat followed the failure of the management of the four audit firms to appear before the SPAC to answer questions relating to the NNPCL financial statements from 2017 to  2023.

Chairman of SPAC, Senator Aliyu Wadada, issued the threat at a media briefing at the National Assembly.

He said it was completely unacceptable that citizens saddled with public trust would consistently breach same.

Wadada and members of his panel were visibly angry when they discovered that none of the four external auditing firms engaged by NNPCL appeared for questioning yesterday.

He lamented that despite being formally invited to clarify what the committee described as, “contentious issues” in the NNPCL’s annual and political financial statements, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) appeared on their behalf, claiming he had been delegated to represent them.

The committee, however, rejected the appearance of the SAN, describing it as inappropriate and inconsistent with the rules of engagement.

According to the committee, only the actual auditors—those who prepared the reports— were deemed fit to provide answers and clarifications.

Wadada said, “We found him not fit and proper as of today to stand before us as a representative of the external auditing firms.

The committee rejected the appearance of the SAN, describing it as inappropriate and inconsistent with the rules of engagement.

According to the committee, only the actual auditors—those who prepared the reports—are deemed fit to provide answers and clarifications. “We found him not fit and proper as of today to stand before us as a representative of the external auditing firms.”

The committee said the external auditing firms, namely, SIAO, VWC, Muktali Dangana & Co and l Ahmed Zakaria & Co, were expected to appear individually to respond to specific queries raised in the examination of NNPCL’s 2023 accounts.

He said, “If they do not appear as summoned, we will have no choice but to invoke the powers available to us under the law to compel their attendance. The Nigerian public and the international community deserve to know the truth.”

The panel chairman hinted that failure to honour the new deadline could lead to full public disclosure of the financial irregularities under scrutiny, as well as legal steps to compel compliance.

A member of the committee, Senator Saliu Mustapha, said, “There are sensitive issues that must be addressed. We cannot allow them to be swept under the carpet.

“Our duty as representatives of the Nigerian people demands that we ensure full accountability,” a member of the committee.