The Senate has rejected petrol importation records submitted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) for 2022 and 2023 over discrepancies with figures provided by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.
The Senate Committee on Public Accounts consequently resolved to summon the leadership of the NMDPRA, NNPC and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency (NEITI) Initiative for a joint meeting to reconcile the figures and investigate possible irregularities.
The discrepancies emerged during the committee’s consideration of queries raised against the NMDPRA in NEITI’s audit report covering 2021 to 2023.
The NMDPRA’s Authority Chief Executive, Rabiu Abdullahi Umar, was represented at the hearing by a Deputy Director, Uzoamaka Ugwu-Ojobe, who maintained that the authority’s records on petroleum importation were credible despite the differences with NNPCL’s figures.
Her explanation, however, failed to convince members of the committee.
Senator Abdul Ningi, representing Bauchi Central, described discrepancies exceeding 50 per cent as substantial, disturbing and suspicious.
Another committee member, Senator Dayo Faduyile, representing Ondo South, said the differences raised concerns about the accuracy of the records.
Senator Anietan Bassey, representing Akwa Ibom North-East, called for a thorough investigation, warning that Nigerians must not continue to lose out because of discrepancies in official petroleum importation figures.
The committee, chaired by Senator Hassan Dankwabo, rejected the NMDPRA’s defence and resolved to convene a meeting involving the three agencies as soon as possible.
The proposed meeting is expected to establish the reasons for the conflicting figures and determine whether the discrepancies resulted from errors in record-keeping or other irregularities.
No conclusion on fraud has been established, and the agencies are expected to clarify their respective records during the reconciliation process.
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