The Nigerian Senate has indicted the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited for poor record-keeping of crude oil deliveries to Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company and Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company worth $376,655,589 (N102.6bn).
The indictment was based on the 2016 Auditor General report submitted and presented by Senator Mathew Uhroghide, which was upheld during the plenary session.
Apart from the NNPC, 35 other agencies, including the Office of Accountant General of the Federation, National Population Commission, National Agency for the Control of Aids, FCT Area Council Service Commission, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Justice, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, among others, were also indicted for violation of financial procedures in the country.
The report revealed that several deliveries were stated to be jointly lifted by or delivered to Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company and Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company without necessary details or breakdown of what was delivered to respective companies. This makes it difficult to reconcile and account for each lifting.
As a result, the Senate has asked the Group Managing Director of NNPC, Mele Kyari, to ensure specific details of crude delivered to the two refineries for audit. The report of the indictment will also be submitted to the Office of Secretary to the Government of Federation for further action.
In addition, the lawmakers also considered a bill that will enforce the implementation of the outcome of the auditor general report submitted to the National Assembly for consideration.
The poor record-keeping of the NNPC is a major concern for the Nigerian government, as it leads to a lack of transparency and accountability in the oil industry. The NNPC needs to take measures to address this issue and ensure that proper record-keeping is maintained to prevent future indictments. The Nigerian government also needs to enforce strict financial procedures to prevent agencies from violating financial procedures in the country.
