Reps summon NNPCL, INEC over alleged N802bn audit breaches, give HYPREP 7-day ultimatum

The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee is set to question officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, over alleged financial breaches amounting to more than N802.19 billion.

The allegations are contained in the reports of the Auditor-General of the Federation, AuGF, covering the 2021, 2022 and 2023 financial years, which raised queries over procurement procedures, revenue management, payments and compliance with financial regulations by government agencies.

The committee, chaired by the lawmaker representing Ede North/Ede South/Ejigbo/Egbedore Federal Constituency of Osun State, Bamidele Salam, is empowered under Sections 85, 88 and 89 of the Constitution, as well as Order 20, Rule 6 of the House Rules, to examine public accounts and investigate issues relating to revenue losses, non-remittance of statutory funds and breaches of financial regulations.

A member of the committee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, disclosed that the audit reports raised several questions against NNPCL in its 2021, 2022 and 2023 audits.

According to him, INEC will also be required to provide explanations on issues highlighted in the AuGF’s 2022 and 2023 reports.

Among the issues reportedly flagged by the Auditor-General are N83.66 billion allegedly warehoused from miscellaneous revenue in a sinking fund account, N82.95 billion in unauthorised deductions from Federation revenue, and a N3.75 billion shortfall arising from the sale of petroleum products.

The committee is expected to demand supporting documents and explanations from NNPCL regarding the transactions and audit queries.

Speaking on the allegations against INEC, the lawmaker said the electoral body had “many questions to answer” concerning procurement processes, payments to contractors and failure to remit statutory deductions.

He noted that the queries covered transactions during the tenure of former INEC Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, who has since been appointed an ambassador.

When asked to disclose specific allegations against the commission, the lawmaker declined but stated: “There are questions to be asked on money spent starting from the 2019 general election.”

Meanwhile, the House Public Accounts Committee has given the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project, HYPREP, seven days to explain audit queries involving more than N400 billion.

The ultimatum was issued during a public hearing after the agency allegedly failed to honour four previous invitations by the committee.

Salam described the latest invitation as a final warning, directing HYPREP’s Programme Coordinator to appear before the committee by October 12, 2026, or face further action by the House.

The committee also invited the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Ogoni Remediation Trust Fund to address issues linked to the audit findings.

Among the queries raised against HYPREP are its alleged failure to submit audited accounts to the Auditor-General’s Office between 2017 and 2021, contracts involving $2.1 million over alleged irregular awards and failure to deduct statutory taxes, N986 million paid for consultancy services without evidence of execution, N315 million spent on training, and N7.2 billion allegedly expended on poorly executed contracts.

The auditors further queried N268 million paid without pre-payment audit and N32 million in statutory taxes that were not deducted, as well as N31.8 million paid to external solicitors without approval from the Attorney-General of the Federation.

In a related development, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, has demanded full disclosure of the reported N11.2 trillion oil-backed loans, warning against the use of future crude production to solve present financial challenges.

In a statement issued on Sunday, HURIWA National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said the reported commitment of about 340 million barrels of future crude to service three loans raises serious concerns about transparency, fiscal responsibility and the interests of future generations.

“Nigerians have every right to demand to know whether the country is receiving fair value and what future generations are being asked to surrender,” Onwubiko said.

Comparing the arrangement to a father selling family assets to meet immediate needs, he added: “This is the danger Nigerians must confront.”

While noting that borrowing against future oil production is not unlawful, Onwubiko stressed that the scale of the reported commitments makes public scrutiny necessary.

He urged the Federal Government and the NNPCL to disclose details of the financing arrangements and explain how the proceeds were spent, including whether the funds were invested in projects capable of generating sustainable economic returns.