By Opeyemi Adelakun
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has strongly refuted allegations of financial misconduct levelled against it during an ongoing Senate probe, insisting that the organisation and its staff are not involved in any form of theft.
The defence was made by former NNPCL Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, while appearing before the Senate Public Accounts Committee investigating the company’s financial activities and expenditure records.
Ajiya was reacting to comments reportedly made by Senator Adams Oshiomhole, who allegedly described the national oil company as a “house of thieves” during the committee’s proceedings.
Rejecting the accusation, Ajiya clarified that the company did not spend ₦5.8 billion on its incorporation and registration as alleged. He explained that the actual expenditure stood at ₦2.9 billion and covered both the incorporation of the company and its rebranding process.
“We are not thieves. ₦2.9 billion was used for the registration and rebranding process, not ₦5.8 billion,” Ajiya told the committee.
The former finance chief further maintained that there was no missing money in the company’s accounts, stressing that NNPCL had consistently subjected its finances to public scrutiny through audited reports.
“I need to assure the Chairman, distinguished Senators and indeed all Nigerians that there is no money missing. If money had actually gone missing during our period at NNPC, we would not have had the courage to publish audited accounts over the past 44 years,” he said.
Ajiya noted that transparency remained a key priority for the company, adding that its financial statements were submitted to the Auditor-General of the Federation and also made publicly available.
“The accounts were prepared and never hidden from the public. We made it a duty not only to submit them to the Auditor-General but also to upload them on our website so Nigerians could scrutinise them and help address concerns about opacity and public distrust,” he added.
The Senate Public Accounts Committee is currently examining the financial records of the national oil company following concerns raised by lawmakers over its expenditure profile and operational transactions.
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