The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday insisted that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) must account for N210 trillion, which had not been “netted off” in its audited financial statement.

There has been a back-and-forth between the committee and the management of the oil company over the figure, resulting in the panel giving the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, until July 10 to appear before it to address the 11 pending questions the committee asked about the funds.

The committee has been reviewing the audited books of the NNPCL for the period 2017–2023 and uncovered what it described as “vague financial information” about the N210 trillion it insists the company must clarify for public understanding.

“We never said NNPCL stole N210 trillion, but we insist you must account for N210 trillion.

“You have an account that is not netted off, so it can’t be acceptable to us,” the Chairman of the committee, Senator Aliyu Wadada, said at the reconvened sitting of the committee on Thursday, where Ojulari was expected to lead the oil firm’s team.

However, the GCEO was absent but sent the Chief Financial Officer, Mr Dapo Segun, to represent him.

Segun, while responding to inquiries on why Ojulari was absent, explained that the GCEO was leading a delegation to represent Nigeria at an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) session outside the country and would not be available before the weekend.

His response infuriated some committee members, who reminded Ojulari that he could afford to fly to attend OPEC meetings because Nigerians gave him the opportunity to do so through his appointment by President Bola Tinubu.

“Today, the same Nigerians, through the Senate, are asking you to come and explain your financial statement, and you are not available,” Senator Abdul Ningi said.

Also speaking, Senator Adams Oshiomhole described the NNPCL as “dirty” and “having a track record of corruption”, adding that it must constantly update Nigerians on how their oil resources were being managed.

“Anybody who is too big to obey the Constitution of Nigeria should relocate. We are empowered by our constituents to do what we are doing,” he added.

Wadada also referenced comments made in public suggesting that the NNPCL’s records were correct while the senators did not understand the financial statement submitted to them.

Naming some members of the committee, Wadada said there were about four ex-governors, chartered accountants and one Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) on the panel.

He said, “It is insulting if you say Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo, a former Accountant-General of the Federation and governor; Senator Ede Dafinone, whose family is all about accounting practice; of course there is our SAN here; or is it Senator Abdul Ningi, who has spent many years in the National Assembly looking at budgets after budgets — that all these people do not understand the financial statement of the NNPCL?”

Segun, who led the NNPCL’s team, did not make further comments on Thursday beyond explaining that Ojulari was unavailable.