Di Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) dey face serious gbege after Auditor-General 2022 report show say dem no fit account for £14.3 million wey dem spend for dia London office during 2021 financial year.
Di report talk say di company no follow proper rules, no respect due process, and di internal control system weak. Audit team talk say dem no fit confirm how di money dem take use, and no know whether di spending follow di law and financial regulations.
According to di report, di London office spending dey violate plenty Financial Regulations (2009), including:
Paragraph 112: Accounting officers suppose make sure say internal controls dey so that revenue collection and spending dey proper.
Paragraph 415: Officers suppose spend money with sense, no just because funds dey.
Paragraph 603(1): Vouchers must show correct details of each service, with supporting documents like invoices, purchase orders, and letters of authority.
Auditor-General talk say di wahala fit cause diversion and misappropriation of public money if dem no fix am.
NNPCL management talk say London office na service unit wey get annual budget of £14.3 million, and dem spend am according to operational and financial rules. Dem talk say dem get detailed records of all spending, including staff salaries, contracts, and other operational expenses, wey fit show auditors if dem request am.
Even with dis explanation, Auditor-General yan say di answer no satisfy am. Dem direct di Group CEO make dem recover di £14.3 million and remit am go treasury, else dem fit face sanctions wey di Financial Regulations talk about.
Di report still show say NNPCL get bigger wahala for money matters. E point out irregular payments, inflated contracts, abandoned projects, and failure to pay statutory taxes. Between 2020 and 2021, more than $51 million dey under questionable settlements, and about N684 million dey spend on projects wey dem no finish.
NNPCL history show say e no dey transparent. Di company no make audited accounts public for 43 years until 2020. Currently, EFCC dey investigate 14 NNPCL officials, including former CEOs Mele Kyari and Abubakar Yar’Adua, over alleged $2.7 billion fraud for maintenance of Kaduna, Warri, and Port Harcourt refineries.
Since June, di Senate Committee on Public Accounts don dey probe unaccounted N210 trillion for NNPCL’s audited financial statements from 2017 to 2023. Auditor-General previous report don also flag unauthorised diversion of N514 billion.
Auditor-General talk say di latest report show how urgent e dey for NNPCL to improve transparency, obey financial regulations, and manage public funds properly, make corruption and anomalies stop.
